"Lavrov stated that the United States agrees to support Russia's territorial claims
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that recent contacts with the United States regarding Ukraine "inspire hope" that the Americans have begun to better understand Russia's position.He made this statement in an interview with Iran's State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, according to Newsweek.
Lavrov said that the United States allegedly agreed that Ukraine would not be a NATO member and also promised to facilitate the transfer of the occupied territories to Russia.
"Now we need to address these root causes, and it's good that the Americans have understood this. They clearly stated that there can be no NATO. And they clearly stated that the lands where Russians have lived for centuries must become Russian again," the Russian Foreign Minister stated.
Among the Kremlin's other demands, he named the "restoration of rights" for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Russian language in Ukraine.
Lavrov also stated that Russia "has nothing to discuss" with the current European leadership and that European countries "have ignored all opportunities to participate in resolving" the war in Ukraine."
The United States has promised Russia that Ukraine will give up territory as part of a peace settlement, Moscow’s foreign minister has said.
Sergei Lavrov said the Trump administration understood that “territories where Russians have lived for centuries should once again become part of Russia”.
Mr Lavrov was referring to Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea – five Ukrainian territories that were illegally annexed by Vladimir Putin in 2022.
His
comments came after US officials held talks with Ukrainian and European
leaders in Berlin about a potential peace deal between Russia and
Ukraine.
The US told Kyiv and its European allies to accept its “platinum” offer
of security guarantees in exchange for ceding some territory to Russia.
Putin has demanded that
Ukraine withdraw from the remainder of the Donbas region, made up of
Donetsk and Luhansk, which is not currently under Russian military
control.
Moscow has also insisted that Ukraine be barred from joining Nato, a request Mr Lavrov said the US also understood.
“Our
position is clear. The root causes of the conflict must be eliminated,”
he said on Tuesday. “These include the threats to Russia created by
Nato’s eastward expansion toward our borders and by efforts to draw
Ukraine into the alliance.”
Mr
Lavrov added: “It is good that the US has understood this. They have
clearly stated that Nato membership for Ukraine is unacceptable.”
Prior to peace talks in Berlin, Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said he was ready to give up Ukraine’s ambition to join Nato in exchange for security guarantees from the US and Europe.
The details of
Washington’s “platinum” security guarantees offer are not clear, but are
thought to resemble Nato’s Article 5 commitment.
This
could mean that the US and Europe would provide direct military support
to Ukraine in the event of a future Russian invasion.
But
US officials also warned that such guarantees would “not be on the
table forever”, in an apparent ultimatum to Mr Zelensky to agree to the
terms."
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