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According to the Kremlin’s top diplomat, Moscow intends to continue the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the current Ukrainian leadership allegedly “is not ready” to end the war through diplomacy, and therefore Russia plans to achieve its goals on the battlefield.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, March 16, Lavrov stated that Moscow would not accept a settlement that preserves the current government in Kyiv.
“Listening to statements from the French, the Germans, and Brussels democrats, I see nothing constructive that could lead to progress in negotiations. Since the Kyiv regime is not ready for this, we will achieve the goals of the ‘special military operation’ on the ground, which is what is happening now,” Lavrov said, according to Russian media.
At the same time, he praised the United States, claiming that Americans, unlike Europeans, support the need to recognize the “realities on the ground.” According to Lavrov, this includes acknowledging Russia’s occupation of the entire Donbas as a way to eliminate what he called the “root causes of the conflict.”
Lavrov also claimed that another supposed cause of the war is the presence of what he described as a “Nazi regime” in Kyiv that would allegedly continue hostile anti-Russian policies.
“We have said many times that a settlement that preserves the Nazi regime is a serious problem. It’s not simply about stopping along the line of contact and saying everything will be fine. It doesn’t work that way,” Lavrov said.
His remarks ignore the fact that since 2014 Ukraine has had two different presidents and two different parliaments with distinct political agendas, although the Kremlin has labeled both previous and current Ukrainian authorities as “Nazis.”
Last week, Russian officials also said that the Istanbul negotiations are no longer relevant in discussions with Ukraine. At that time, Moscow demanded Ukraine’s full neutrality, a reduction in the size of its armed forces, and recognition of Russian control over occupied territories.
Similar conditions reportedly appeared in the so-called “28 points of Trump,” which media reports suggested were in fact drafted with input from the Kremlin.
