Russia reduces the expectations of an imminent encounter between Putin and Zelenski to seek peace in Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov has overturned a jug of cold water about expectations around negotiations on Ukraine and the hypothetical encounter between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodimir Zelenski.
On the one hand, in front of the rush of the United States to close the summit in August, Lavrov has emphasized that preparing a meeting “between senior officials” must prepare with great care. On the other, he has discarded a possible peace in exchange for the territory with an ethereal argument to prolong the war: “The Russian Federation never had the objective of seizing Crimea, Donbás or Novalossiya, his main task was to protect the Russian people,” he said in an interview granted to the Rossiya 24 Canal.
“Without respect for the security of Russia and the full rights of the Russians in Ukraine, you cannot talk about long -term agreements,” said Lavrov, whose government has always insisted on which Putin will only meet with Zelenski to sign a peace that meets his demands.
However, the Kremlin tries not to lose Trump’s favor without openly closing any door. “Russia does not reject any negotiation format on Ukraine, neither bilateral nor trilateral,” Lavrov added on Tuesday.
On the other hand, the Russian Foreign Ministry recalled Monday that its country opposes frontally to the deployment of any type of western troops in Ukraine.
