Lavrov: Russia is not after war with Ukraine

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that negotiations with the West on security guarantees are not over yet and Russia will not allow anyone to ignore its interests, maintaining that the West will not be able to evade the implementation of Moscow's conditions regarding the principle of indivisible security.

Lavrov added in a press conference today, Friday, that the constructive points in the Western response to the security guarantees initiative depend on previous Russian proposals. He warned that Russia will take retaliatory measures in case no agreement is reached with the West on the principles of ensuring security in Europe.

He pointed out that he does not rule out the presence of sides who want to drag Kiev to war with Moscow, at a time when the former does not control part of its forces, stressing that the war will not erupt if this depends on Russia.

Lavrov added that Washington's adoption of a new sanctions package against Russia would be tantamount to severing relations and that American threats to expel the Russian Ambassador from the United States are "ugly", stressing that Russia wants the West to deal with it impartially.

He addressed the West saying that to support diplomacy, they must implement their commitments, adding that "the United States and NATO are trying to escape responsibility on security issues."

Russia needs a clear answer from the West regarding security guarantees, not just excuses, Lavrov said, pointing out that his country's demands are "not impossible".

Lavrov also maintained that Russia will not change its position regarding security guarantees and said: "There is no room for a compromise if Washington continues to distort Moscow's evidence."

'Ukraine is a US puppet'

He considered in his statements that the United States is doing the impossible and is using Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his regime "to strain the situation around Russia" to occupy Moscow and devote itself to confronting China.

He said that "no one can force Kiev to abide by the Minsk agreements except Washington, which alone can pressure Ukraine to implement its terms," ​​noting that "if Kiev implements the Minsk agreements, everything will be fine."

He also indicated that Moscow may consider taking measures to ensure the security of its diplomats in the neighboring country, amid the evacuation of diplomats by Western countries.

Lavrov announced that "a new meeting related to the settlement of the crisis will be held between the Russian and American Foreign Ministry within two weeks."

He also expressed his country's readiness to discuss with Ukrainian President Zelensky the normalization of relations with Russia and invited him to "come to Moscow or Sochi."

Ukrainian-Russian talks

Moreover, the Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov had expressed his readiness to meet with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoigu, "if this meeting is within the framework of international negotiations and with the participation of international partners."

Regarding the United States' intention to discuss the issue of Russia and Ukraine at the UN Security Council, the Russian Foreign Minister said: "We have a lot to talk about with Washington, which has military forces in many places, illegally and without official invitations from those countries."

The head of the Russian Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko, confirmed earlier that the West accused Russia without any evidence of "planning an attack on Ukraine."

Yesterday, Lavrov said that "the United States did not answer, in its response to the security guarantees proposals, the question of the non-expansion of NATO towards the east."