Russian Foreign Minister says Russia not opposed to negotiations amidst Ukraine’s counteroffensive

EUROPEAN PRAVDA – SUNDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2022, 16:49

Sergey Lavrov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said that Moscow is not opposed to negotiations with Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, citing RBC (Russian Business Consulting), a Kremlin-aligned Russian news outlet

Quote from Lavrov: "We are not opposed to negotiations, but those who are must realise that the longer they delayed this process, the more difficult it would be for them to reach an agreement with us."

Details: Lavrov recalled that Russia supported some of the offers introduced by the Ukrainian delegation during the last round of negotiations in Istanbul in late March.

"As for negotiations, they [the Ukrainian delegation - ed.] have already said everything. They have declared that negotiations will only be possible after Ukraine’s victory. Only then – when ‘Russia withdraws from the Ukrainian land’ – will they be prepared to negotiate, to foist their agenda on to us," Lavrov said, adding that the West actively supports Ukraine’s position.

Background: The Institute for the Study of War reported that Ukrainian forces have liberated more territory in the past five days since 6 September than Russian forces captured in all their operations since April.

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, said during the Yalta European Strategy Forum that Kyiv is not accepting Western partners’ recommendations to start "peace" talks with the Russian Federation, and demands a complete end to the occupation of Donbas and Crimea.

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