The end of sanctions imposed on Russia is part of peace talks between Moscow and Ukraine, which are “difficult” but ongoing every day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in comments published earlier this month on Saturday.
Kyiv warned on Friday that talks to end the Russian invasion, now in its third month, were in danger of collapsing.
“At the moment, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are actually discussing a draft of a possible agreement via video conference every day,” Lavrov said in a comment to China’s official Xinhua news agency, published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has insisted since the invasion began on February 24 that Western sanctions against Russia must be tightened and could not be part of the negotiations.
Ukraine and Russia have not held facetoface peace talks since March 29, and the atmosphere has deteriorated over Ukrainian allegations that Russian troops have committed atrocities by withdrawing from areas near Kyiv. Moscow denies the allegations
Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” its neighbor. Ukraine and the West say Russia has launched an unprovoked war of aggression.
“The agenda of the talks also includes issues of denazification, recognition of new geopolitical realities, lifting of sanctions and the status of the Russian language, among others,” Lavrov said without elaborating.
“We are in favor of continuing the negotiations, although they are difficult,” Lavrov said.
Ukraine’s western allies have imposed farreaching sanctions on Moscow. They froze about half of Russia’s state gold and foreign exchange reserves, hammering out the Russian economy and bringing it to the brink of bankruptcy.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly, Melbourne)