Lavrov: Russia Not to Make Concessions on Ukraine

By Staff, Agencies

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that his country will not agree to a mere postponement of Kiev’s NATO membership, or to the deployment of European peacekeepers to Ukraine – two ideas reportedly proposed by advisers of US President-elect Donald Trump, as part of a potential peace deal.

In an interview with TASS news agency published on Monday, Lavrov said Russia has not received any signals from Trump’s team regarding talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict.

“We have always been and remain ready for negotiations. But it is important to understand with whom and about what to conduct them,” he stressed.

Lavrov said that if discussions with the next US administration take place, Moscow will not accept the proposals reported in the media, coming from members of Trump’s team.

During his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to find a swift diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis if elected, but did not provide specifics on how he would achieve the goal.

Lavrov said peace between Moscow and Kiev can only be achieved through “reliable, legally binding agreements” that address the root causes of the conflict and include mechanisms to prevent future violations.

The top diplomat further underlined that the position on settling the hostilities is “well known” and has been articulated by President Vladimir Putin on numerous occasions, including during his end-of-year press conference earlier this month.

At that event, Putin reiterated that Moscow remains open to negotiations with Kiev without any preconditions, aside from those already agreed upon in Istanbul in 2022.