When asked about the prospect of holding peace talks with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that it made no sense in the current situation, as reported by Reuters.

"If the west delivers long-range weapons to Kyiv, geographical objectives in Ukraine will be advanced even further," Lavrov told reporters earlier in the day.

Market reaction

Markets remain risk-averse following these comments and US stock index futures were last seen losing between 0.2% and 0.4% on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index clings to modest daily gains near 107.00.