Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine but will not "pause" war – Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said immediately after meeting his US counterpart Marco Rubio that Russia would not halt military operations during possible talks with Ukraine aimed at achieving a "just peace."
Lavrov made the statement at a UN Security Council meeting, Censor.NET reports.
On readiness for talks
"Russia, as President Putin has repeatedly confirmed, is ready for negotiations to achieve precisely such a lasting, just peace," Lavrov said.
At the same time, he added that, "having learned from bitter experience," Moscow "will not pause the ‘special military operation’ during negotiations in any format."
Statements about Europe and the 1991 borders
Lavrov claimed that Ukraine could have remained within its 1991 borders, "except for Crimea," if Europeans had not, in his words, engaged in "deception."
The Russian diplomat claimed that Europe supposedly wanted a respite to replenish Kyiv’s depleted arsenals and that Kyiv, out of desperation, had turned to "terrorist methods."
He also said Europeans had supposedly been unable to overcome their "age-old instinct to lie" and blamed "Biden, NATO and Kyiv’s desire to liberate Donbas" for the "preemptive attack" on Ukraine.
- Before his statement at the UN Security Council, Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The talks lasted about an hour.
