Russia “is ready to resume negotiations” with Ukraine “if there are interesting ideas”. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a press conference in Moscow after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. “Negotiations are going on, but it’s still too early to talk about progress, because – the Foreign Minister reminded – we are still waiting for the Ukrainian side’s responses to the latest version” of the submitted document, which was submitted about ten days ago been, but we have not yet received an answer”.
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Lavrov then called Kiev’s proposal for talks in Mariupol “a theatrical gesture” by Ukrainians who “probably wanted another heartbreaking scene.” “If we are talking about serious attitudes to work as part of the talks, it would be better if they respond to our proposals as soon as possible,” he warned, stressing that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has so far ignored the proposals made by Moscow.
The conflict in Ukraine, Lavrov added, is “a dangerous alarm bell for the United Nations,” which the minister himself accuses of “attempting to scrap the basic rules of the UN Charter.” Lavrov also told reporters that Guterres was “very well informed” about the goals of “Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.” During the interview, at the end of the meeting, it turned out that the two also discussed possible steps towards “strengthening cooperation” in the field of humanitarian aid.
Lavrov, on the day the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution to abolish the veto power that Russia enjoys along with the other four permanent members of the Security Council (United States, China, France and the United Kingdom), he was also sure that “the right of veto will remain in place, it is one of the pillars of the United Nations Security Council”.