Lavrov says Ukraine resolution still a considerable distance away

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has indicated that achieving a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict remains a distant prospect, attributing the ongoing delay to the West’s persistent escalation.

In an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Wednesday, Lavrov remarked, “Based on the current situation on the battlefield, we are far from reaching a political and diplomatic resolution to the crisis. The United States and its allies seem fixated on the notion of delivering a strategic defeat to Russia, and they are willing to go to great lengths to pursue this misguided objective.”

He described the recent endorsement by the US, UK, and France for long-range strikes on internationally recognized Russian territory by Ukraine as “another escalatory step” taken by the West. “Our repeated warnings that such unacceptable actions would provoke a suitable response were disregarded,” he stated.

Lavrov emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “clearly articulated how Russia would react to these provocations” during his televised address on Thursday, which followed the deployment of Moscow’s new Oreshnik medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile against a Ukrainian military-industrial site.

The minister expressed his belief that those accountable for harming Russian citizens and infrastructure will face appropriate consequences. He emphasized that no escalation from our adversary will deter us from fulfilling the objectives of the military operation in Ukraine. We are prepared for any developments, yet we consistently favor resolving disputes through diplomatic means.

To achieve a diplomatic resolution between Russia and Ukraine, it is crucial to address the fundamental causes of the conflict, he stated. Lavrov identified NATO’s expansion to the east and the ongoing violations of the rights of Russian speakers in Ukraine by the Kiev government as significant factors.

He further noted that a key component of any political resolution must include the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, ensuring that the territories under the control of the Kiev regime maintain a non-aligned, neutral, and non-nuclear status.

Lavrov also asserted that a peace agreement cannot be established without acknowledging the political and territorial realities outlined in the Russian constitution, specifically referencing the status of Crimea, which rejoined Russia in 2014, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which became part of Russia following referendums in 2022.