(Dan Tri) – Russian Foreign Minister said Moscow has not given up the idea of peace negotiations with Kiev, but Ukraine and the West have no real desire for this.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (Photo: Reuters).
At a press conference after the Antalya Diplomatic Forum on March 2, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the crisis in Ukraine will end when the country begins to comply with the norms of international law.
`On the question of what should be done to end the conflict in Ukraine. Ukraine needs to comply with basic norms of international law, including respect for human rights and the rights of ethnic minorities…`,
`We have announced our goals (in the special military operation in Ukraine). In his federal address, the president reaffirmed that these goals remain completely relevant,` Russian diplomat
According to Mr. Lavrov, Russia has not seen any `serious` negotiation proposals since the failure of the Istanbul peace agreement in spring 2022.
`There is no serious call for us for negotiations. By serious, I mean real proposals aimed at securing the legitimate interests of the parties concerned. There are no proposals
Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Ankara is ready to host peace talks between Moscow and Kiev, and play an intermediary role in the process.
`This is not a question for us,` Lavrov said when asked about potential negotiations and Ankara’s readiness to provide a mediating role for a dialogue.
`We confirm once again that Russia has never abandoned the (peace) negotiations,` Mr. Lavrov said, adding that this question had been raised `more than a dozen times.`
David Arakhamia, Ukraine’s top negotiator in Istanbul, once revealed that former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson went to Kiev and persuaded the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to withdraw from the negotiations.
In the fall of 2022, President Zelensky issued a decree prohibiting Ukraine from holding any negotiations with the current Russian leadership.
He also came up with his own peace plan, later known as `Zelensky’s formula`.
Moscow considers the plan absurd and blames Kiev and Ukraine’s Western backers for refusing any meaningful dialogue.
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said on March 2 that the `legitimate interests` of the people in the Donbass region, eastern Ukraine, have never been taken into account by Western countries.
`We do not lack goodwill (for negotiations),` Mr. Lavrov said, adding that Moscow `perceives a lack of goodwill on the other side.`
He said that the West also lacks `understanding` of the situation on the ground and still seeks to defeat Russia by military means even though `that solution has completely failed and is deadlocked.`
`We see the other side’s desire to continue to defeat Russia on the battlefield. Most notable are the latest statements by (Lloyd) Austin, the head of the Pentagon, that in the event of a defeat by Ukraine, NATO
`These trends in the West, in the Western leadership, have canceled all guarantees that the West is interested in some political solution,` the Russian diplomat declared.
