Germany Lavrov: West does not want to negotiate honestly about Ukraine

Russia has accused the West of dishonesty in the Ukraine dispute following Chancellor Olaf Scholz's diplomatic initiative. "The West does not want to negotiate honestly," said Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a meeting with Arab colleagues from the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh. Western heads of state are clinging to the initiative of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, which is unacceptable to Moscow. This means that the West is continuing to do everything it can to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield. One of the demands of Zelensky's initiative is the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory.

In his criticism, Lavrov also addressed Scholz's initiative. After his words about the necessity of a diplomatic solution, there were suggestions in the German press that a solution would have to take into account the Russian conquests. However, it was not about territory, Lavrov claimed. "We have never wanted foreign soil, we only wanted the people who are part of the Russian world, Russian culture, Russian language, history and religion to be treated humanely, as required by international law, many human rights and minority conventions and, above all, the United Nations Charter," said the minister.

In contrast to Lavrov's statement, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly laid claim to the conquered territories and other parts of Ukraine. He compared himself to Tsar Peter the Great and, in the first year of his war of aggression, said that it was also about "taking back" Russian soil. He referred to parts of southern and eastern Ukraine as New Russia. He justified Moscow's demands in part with centuries-old maps.