Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the National Convention Center in Vientiane, Laos on July 26, 2024. | Photo Credit: Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday he “does not listen” to Ukraine’s contradictory statements on peace talks.
Mr Lavrov made the remarks after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba visited China for talks this week. President Volodymyr Zelensky said then that Beijing had given a “clear signal” that it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
Mr Lavrov rejected the comments made by Mr Zelensky and Mr Kuleba while answering questions from Russian journalists on the sidelines of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the Laotian capital.
Mr. Kuleba said in an interview with Ukraine, TSN Speaking to the channel on Friday about his visit to Beijing, he said Kiev cannot be forced to negotiate and that China, which has tried to present itself as a mediator following Russia’s invasion, respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
“This is not the first time Mr Kuleba has said this, but he has said the exact opposite several times,” Mr Lavrov said.
“Some time ago they were talking about negotiations. Zelensky spoke about his readiness to eventually sit down at a table with Russian representatives. To be honest, I don’t listen to him,” he said.
Mr. Lavrov said that during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Vientiane they discussed what was said during Kuleba’s visit and that the Russians “felt that China’s position remains unchanged.”
Mr Lavrov said Beijing insists that any peace talks should be in a format “acceptable to all parties”.
Mr Zelensky said this month that Russia should be represented at the second peace summit, after it was not invited to the summit in Switzerland in June and China was also not invited.
Mr Lavrov also referred to Donald Trump’s likely position on Ukraine if he is elected US president, which former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote about in a Wall Street Journal article this week.
“Regarding Trump, I heard that he proposed allocating $500 billion to Ukraine on lend-lease terms instead of just giving it money,” Mr. Lavrov said, describing it as “a businessman’s approach.”
“I can’t comment on a lot of the ideas that are not really serious,” he said.
“When a serious proposal comes, as the President has said, we are always ready for an honest dialogue taking into account the current realities,” the minister said.