According to the Russian foreign minister, the United States is “holding hands” with the Ukrainian delegation handling negotiations with Moscow, preventing them from accepting the Kremlin’s minimum demands for peace.
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US doesn’t want Ukraine to sign peace deal with Russia, says Kremlin foreign minister. Sergey Lavrov. According to the Moscow diplomat, “the US is holding hands with the Ukrainian delegation in peace talks with Russia, preventing Kyiv from accepting Moscow’s minimum requirements.” Then Lavrov, quoted by the Interfax agency, added: “We have always advocated a diplomatic solution to any issue when Zelenskyy proposed talks amid hostilities, to which our President agreed. And so the talks began. The Ukrainian delegation has started to take part only formally, so to speak”.
Dialogue, Lavrov said, has “established itself over time,” although there is a “constant impression from Russia that someone’s Ukrainian delegation — the foreign minister insisted — is likely to be held by the Americans and prevented from agreeing with requests, which I consider to be absolutely minimal”. During the same speech, Lavrov also closed the door on the “requirement to send NATO peacekeeping forces to Ukraine,” which was “demagogy.”
Then the head of diplomacy in Moscow turned to the relationship with Beijing: “The interaction will intensify when you consider that the West is trampling on all the pillars of the international system and we, the two great powers, must of course consider how to proceed.” And regarding trading partners – primarily the West – Lavrov was icy: “These countries are not reliable – he explained – Of course, we remain open to cooperation with all countries, including Western ones, even if we will not propose any initiative under consideration of the current circumstances and behavior of the West”.