Moscow (EFE).- Russia maintained today that it has no need to talk about peace negotiations with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, but maintained that it would be willing to evaluate “serious proposals” from the West.
In his annual press conference, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, maintained that one cannot “not even talk about negotiations with Zelensky, simply because he legislatively prohibited negotiations with the Russian government.”
He described as “absurd” the ten-point peace plan presented by Zelensky at the G20 last November.
The Ukrainian president’s decalogue for peace is based on radiological and nuclear safety, food and energy security, the release of prisoners and deportees, the implementation of the UN Charter, the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the reestablishment of the world order.
It also demands the withdrawal of Russian troops and the cessation of hostilities, the restoration of justice, the immediate protection of the environment, the prevention of escalation with effective security guarantees for Ukraine and the confirmation of the end of the war by written.
“So what are the bargaining prospects? We will be willing to analyze any serious proposal, we have not received them yet, but we are willing to consider them and make a decision,” he said.
Lavrov said that the statements of Western leaders that nothing can be decided without Ukraine “is absurd”, because “they decide everything for Ukraine.”
“They forbade Zelensky to reach an agreement with Russia at the end of March when the agreement was almost ready. The West decided that it was not yet the time and now they are also saying that it is necessary to supply more weapons, to exhaust the Russian Federation more », he stated.
“Therefore all that talk from the West that they are willing (to negotiate) is nothing more than lies,” he opined.
Russia, he said, came to negotiations with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022 and was ready to reach an agreement on guaranteeing security for Ukraine by respecting its neutral status, that is, the country’s renunciation of its aspiration anchored in the Constitution of becoming a member of NATO.
“Ukraine received instructions that it was too early to do so,” Lavrov said again today.
“Our position is well known, but talking to the West only about Ukraine would be pointless. The West uses Ukraine to destroy the Euro-Atlantic security system that was based on the principle of consensus, indivisible security and problem solving through cooperation and dialogue,’ he noted.
The head of Russian diplomacy stressed that Russia has “concrete and not imaginary objectives” in the war in Ukraine, determined by the “fundamental interests of the country’s security.”
“In Ukraine, as in any other border territory with Russia, of course there should be no military infrastructure that poses a direct threat,” he reiterated.
“We need an honest dialogue. We do not need, in my opinion, to present initiatives at this time on areas that the West itself has shelved, including interaction in the Council of Europe, “he said.
“Sometime this war will end. We will defend our truth. But at the moment I can’t imagine how we will continue; everything will depend on the conclusions that Europe draws”, he indicated.
Russia says the US is emulating Hitler’s tactic against the USSR
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday compared the US policy towards Russia with Adolf Hitler’s actions against the USSR.
“Like Hitler, who wanted to definitively solve the “Jewish question”, now Western politicians (…) talk about the need for a strategic defeat of Russia,” said the head of Russian diplomacy at his first press conference of the year. to take stock of 2022 and set the objectives for this year.
According to Lavrov, Washington is currently trying to mobilize Europe to resolve the “Russian issue.”
“The Americans have created a coalition of practically all the European countries, which are part of NATO and the European Union, and through Ukraine they are waging a war against our country with the same objective, the definitive solution of the Russian question,” asserted.
The Russian foreign chief indicated that “someday this war will end” and Russia “will stand up for its truth.”
«But at the moment I can’t imagine how to live later; everything will depend on the conclusions that Europe draws”, he added.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announces the seizure of the town of Sil, near Soledar
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Wednesday the seizure by Russian forces of the town of Sil, located next to the town of Soledar.
“Volunteers from assault detachments, supported by fire from aviation and missile troops of the Southern Military District, liberated the town of Sil in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in the daily war report. .
