Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed Tuesday that Moscow «does not refuse to negotiate» peace with Ukraine and said that «if anyone rejects this path, it is Ukraine,» before dismissing as «rumors» reports of U.S. work to pave the way to the talks table.
«We have repeatedly confirmed through the mouth of (Russian President Vladimir Putin) that we do not refuse to negotiate. If anyone refuses this path, it is Ukraine,» Lavrov said during his speech on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia, where he is leading the delegation in the absence of the Russian leader.
Thus, Lavrov warned that «the longer it (Ukraine) refuses to negotiate, the more difficult it will be to negotiate», according to the Russian news agency TASS. «Regarding reports that the United States is preparing negotiations: these are rumors that constantly arise and disappear in the same way. We no longer react to such things,» he argued.
«We want to see clear evidence that the West is really interested in putting (Ukrainian President Volodimir) Zelensky in a firm position and explaining to him that this cannot go on like this, that this is not in the interests of the Ukrainian people,» the Russian foreign minister said, as reported by the Interfax agency.
The Russian government on Monday called «unacceptable» the demand for the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine in order to start peace talks to end the war triggered on February 24 by Putin’s invasion order.
In response, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said that «Russia is not in a position to dictate its conditions.» «The Ukrainian peace formula remains unchanged. Immediate end of the war, withdrawal of all Russian troops, restoration of Ukrainian territorial integrity, compensation for the damage caused and delivery of effective guarantees for non-repetition of aggression,» he concluded.
Ukraine has repeatedly demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied territories in view of the start of peace talks, calls which have intensified in view of the military advances made by the Ukrainian Army in the last weeks, especially in the regions of Kharkov and Kherson.
