Russia talks about Western references to finding a formula for peace in Ukraine
After last summer's failed Ukrainian counteroffensive failed to make any tangible territorial gains against Russian forces that planted mines and swarms of drones to protect the front lines, some influential Western powers that support Kiev are looking for a way out of the Russo-Ukrainian war. It is ongoing from February 2022. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
Nearly two years after the massive Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow controls about 17.5 percent of Ukrainian territory, and this year, Lavrov indicated in an interview with the Russian News Agency and the Rossiya-24 television channel that there are signs the West is changing. Its tactics and strategies regarding Ukraine.
The Russian foreign minister said some in the West were suggesting that Moscow should discuss peace with Ukraine after the US and its allies failed to defeat Russian forces in Ukraine. He said, as quoted by Reuters: “The West is already changing its tactics – and may be thinking about clarifying the strategy adopted.” Because if Russia's strategic failure is seen as a strategy, the strategy has failed miserably.
Reiterating that Moscow will achieve all its goals in Ukraine, Lavrov said, “There are some approaches and hints: why not meet with a party in Europe (Russia) that is ready to discuss the Ukraine issue? “
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said he is ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine, but on Russia's terms. U.S. officials said they believed he would wait until the 2024 U.S. presidential election before taking serious steps toward peace.
Ukraine says it will not rest until the last Russian soldier is expelled from its border, which was created when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The West says it will not push Ukraine toward peace.
Putin portrays the war in Ukraine as a battle for Russia's survival against an arrogant West that it says is planning to divide Russia and steal its vast natural resources.
US President Joe Biden has said that the West does not seek to destroy Russia and that Kiev wants to defeat Russian forces on the territory of Ukraine. Biden said Russia suffered a “strategic failure” in Ukraine in 2022.
Lavrov, who has been in office since 2004, said on Thursday that major Western powers met ten days ago “secretly” within the framework of a gathering of seven major industrialized nations plus developing countries to discuss “peace”. formula” proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said they agreed to hold another meeting in January and a “peace summit” in February based on Zelensky's peace formula. Lavrov's statements have not been independently verified.
Zelensky's 10-point peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces, a ceasefire and the restoration of the Ukrainian state's borders with Russia.
Moscow says Zelensky's idea is absurd because it does not include Russia in the talks.
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