West to undermine Moscow-Kiev talks by fueling hysteria over Bucha: Lavrov
Lavrov has stated that the aim is to jeopardize any talks between Moscow and Kiev.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
The West intends to sabotage Moscow-Kiev talks, which made some progress during an Istanbul summit, by instilling fear about the situation in Bucha, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.
"We tend to think that the reason lies in the desire to find a reason to disrupt the ongoing negotiations. And to do it exactly at the moment when [there was some progress] …When, at the talks in Istanbul on March 29, for the first time in the entire period of contact between our delegations, the Ukrainian side proposed a written vision of how the treaty could look in terms of the status of Ukraine and security guarantees," Lavrov said in a massage, which was aired by the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.
Read more: Russia to continue pushing for UNSC meeting on Bucha
The Minister also stated that the ongoing Moscow-Kiev talks should not "repeat the fate" of the Minsk agreements.
Concerns over Kiev’s demand to hold referendum on peace deal
The desire by Kiev to approve a proposed peace treaty between Ukraine and Russia, as well as organize a referendum on the matter, raises concerns, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.
"We are concerned that the Ukrainian side has decided to demand that in the event of a [peace] treaty, all hostilities be stopped within a few days, the Russian armed forces leave Ukraine, and after that, a referendum is to be held, ratification in the parliament is necessary. And there is a very high probability that when this ratification and referendum gives a negative result, the negotiation process will have to start again," Lavrov told reporters.
