In a radio interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed Moscow’s claim to control Ukraine, which has been at war for more than two years. According to the politician, the only thing that is unclear is the future of Western Ukraine.
Otherwise, there will only be a Ukraine “that is truly Russian, that wants to be part of the Russian world, that wants to speak Russian and educate its children,” he said with conviction.
Nothing else is excluded. Russia does not want to attack NATO countries, as it claims, to scare voters, Lavrov continued. “But if they want to push NATO’s borders to our borders, then of course we know how to prevent that in Ukraine.”
No basis for discussion in sight
Like other Moscow representatives, Lavrov said Russia was ready for talks with Ukraine. But he mentioned conditions. There will be no ceasefire during any negotiations. Talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are pointless. Kiev must give up its peace formula.
The Ukrainian president had drawn up ten points in the autumn of 2022, which included a withdrawal of Russian troops, reconstruction and reparations and the prosecution of war criminals. Russia sees this as an invitation to surrender. Ukraine sees Russia’s maximum demands in a similar way, including ceding territory, not joining NATO, a reduced military and “denazification,” which likely means the installation of a Moscow-friendly government in Kiev.
Russia is not participating in the peace conference
With his statements, Lavrov again rejected a peace conference that was to take place in Switzerland in mid-June. He quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who recently said a meeting should be acceptable to both Russia and Ukraine. From Moscow’s perspective, this does not apply to the Swiss conference, which is intended to mobilize international support for Ukraine. Lavrov accused Switzerland of not being neutral but hostile because it supports sanctions against Russia.
Source: Krone
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