“The Americans are simply assuming that it is not profitable for them that this process ends quickly,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday in a speech to students. He accuses the United States of obstructing the “difficult” Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, believing that Washington’s goal was to “dominate” the world order, including through sanctions.
“The negotiations are difficult, the Ukrainian side is constantly changing its position. It is difficult to get rid of the impression that our American colleagues are holding them by the hand,” the Russian minister also said. “Many would like to ensure that the negotiations are a dead end,” said the head of Russian diplomacy, citing Poland, one of Ukraine’s main supporters against Moscow.
“We have red lines”
“Western countries want to play the role of mediators. We are not against it, but we have red lines,” Sergei Lavrov continued. He criticized the West for “watering Ukraine with weapons” through their deliveries, intended according to him to “keep as long as possible” Moscow and kyiv “in a fighting situation”.
The Minister also said he was “struck” by the scale of the Western sanctions adopted against Moscow for its offensive in Ukraine which began on February 24. He said they were meant to “remove Russia as an obstacle to a unipolar world”. “This is not about Ukraine, but about the world order that the United States wants to dominate,” he said.
On the Ukrainian side, chief negotiator Mykhaïlo Podoliak judged that the Russian-Ukrainian talks were “difficult” because “the Ukrainian side has clear and principled positions”. He stressed that the discussions, which resumed on March 14, continued “permanently, online”.
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