MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Moscow had yet to see any serious proposals for peace in Ukraine, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestions were absurd.
Mr Lavrov said Moscow stood ready to discuss the conflict with Western countries and to respond to any serious proposals, but that any talks needed to address Russia’s wider security concerns.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Mr Lavrov called again for Nato to remove its “military infrastructure” from Ukraine and other countries close to Russia’s borders.
“There can be no talk of negotiations with Zelensky,” Mr Lavrov said, describing the Ukrainian leader’s 10-point plan unveiled last November as consisting of “completely absurd initiatives”.
“As for the prospects for negotiations between Russia and the West on the Ukrainian issue, we will be ready to respond to any serious proposals. (But) we don’t see any serious proposals yet. We will be ready to consider them and decide,” Mr Lavrov said.
Mr Lavrov said statements by Western governments that they would not discuss anything about Ukraine without Kyiv’s involvement were “all nonsense”, because the West was actually taking the decisions.
Mr Lavrov also said the US was attempting to “contain” both Russia and China with the help of other countries, but they were alert to its “games”.
He said the West saw both countries as a threat – Russia right now, and China in the longer term as a systemic rival.
He said Washington was not powerful enough to keep in check both countries at once, so it was mobilising Europe, Japan and others to join it. At the same time, he said, the West was trying to drive a wedge between Russia and China.
“The West is trying to sow discord in our relations... We and China see all these games,” he said.
His comments underlined the strategic importance to Moscow of its relationship with China at a time when its army is struggling in Ukraine and its economic links with the West have been wrecked by successive waves of sanctions.
Ties with Beijing had never been stronger, Mr Lavrov said, and the two countries were shifting an increasing amount of their trade into their national currencies to reduce dependence on the West and exposure to sanctions.
Russia and China signed a “no limits” partnership last February, and their economic links have boomed as Russia’s connections with the West have shrivelled. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly acknowledged that Chinese President Xi Jinping has “concerns” over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Mr Lavrov said the West was looking for more and more ways to annoy China.
“They have already outlined their positions on Taiwan, which are absolutely unacceptable for China and for international law, they are looking for more and more opportunities to irritate China in Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong,” he said.
“Therefore, China is well aware that remaining in the Western system and completely dependent on the West is fraught with very serious risks for the fundamental national interests of China’s development.” REUTERS
