He rules out “some type of truce” and emphasizes that a ceasefire at this time “is a road to nowhere”
MADRID, 26 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, assured this Thursday that Moscow is open to addressing the conflict in Ukraine with the Administration of the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, before reiterating the need for any conversation to address “the underlying causes” of the war.
“I hope that the Trump Administration, including (Keith) Kellogg – nominated by the magnate as special envoy for Ukraine and Russia – will investigate the underlying causes of the conflict. We are always ready for consultations, ready to confirm it again,” has stated, as reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
“If someone does not understand our position, very clear and formulated repeatedly. We are open to any negotiation, as long as it addresses the essentials, the underlying causes and the principles that President (Russian, Vladimir) Putin referred to,” Lavrov explained.
Thus, he has maintained that Kellogg’s recent statements stating that the Minsk Agreements were a “failed attempt” to achieve an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine reveal that “he still needs to dig deeper into the issue.” “The Minsk Agreements were not an attempt, they were a decision of the United Nations Security Council that was trampled,” he argued.
For this reason, he has reiterated that Russia “will not be satisfied with empty talks” and has ruled out the possibility of “some type of truce”, because “it is not hidden that this truce seeks to buy time to continue arming Ukraine.” “A ceasefire is a road to nowhere,” he stressed.
“We need final legal agreements that set the conditions to guarantee Russia’s security and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors,” he said, while insisting that this must take place “in a context that guarantees the impossibility of violating these agreements, in an international legal manner”.
Trump nominated Kellogg for this new position, conceived as an axis of a negotiation process between both countries to end the war in Ukraine, unleashed in February 2022 after the invasion order signed by Putin. The east of the country was already the scene of a conflict since 2014 between the Army and pro-Russian separatists.
The Republican magnate, who will return to the White House in January for a second term after winning the elections held in November, has claimed on several occasions to be able to end the conflict, in addition to stating that Putin would not have ordered the invasion if he had been at the head of the North American country instead of the current president, Joe Bien.