Lavrov reaffirms Russian claim to Ukraine
Published: Friday, Apr 19th 2024, 16:20
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In a radio interview, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow's claim to power over Ukraine, which has been at war for more than two years. At most, the future of western Ukraine is unclear.
Lavrov told several Russian broadcasters in Moscow on Friday. 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. Nothing else is even up for debate.
Russia does not want to attack NATO states, as is claimed there to scare voters, said Lavrov. "But if they want to push the borders of NATO to our borders, then we will of course know how to prevent this in Ukraine."
Like other Moscow representatives, Lavrov said that Russia was ready for talks with Ukraine. However, he named conditions. There would be no ceasefire during possible negotiations. Talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would be pointless. Kiev would have to move away from his peace formula.
In the fall of 2022, the Ukrainian president drew up ten points that include the withdrawal of Russian troops, reconstruction and reparations as well as the prosecution of war criminals. Russia sees this as an invitation to surrender. Ukraine sees the Russian maximum demands in a similar light, with territorial cessions, renunciation of NATO membership, a reduced army and "denazification", which probably means the establishment of a pro-Moscow government in Kiev.
With his statements, Lavrov once again rejected a peace conference planned for mid-June in Switzerland. He quoted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who had recently said that a meeting would have to be acceptable for both Russia and Ukraine. In Moscow's view, 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.
©Keystone/SDA
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