The US seems to be facing headwinds in persuading Volodymyr Zelenski and NATO allies not to interfere with its efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday. Lavrov’s comments came weeks after unsuccessful efforts for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, as a follow up of the talks between the two leaders at Anchorage in Alaska on August 15 where they had not reached a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“The Americans assured us back then (Alaska summit) that they would be able to ensure that Zelenskyy would not impede the achievement of peace. Apparently, certain difficulties have arisen on this issue,” Lavrov said in an interview with state news agency RIA Novosti. “Furthermore, as far as we know, Brussels and London are trying to persuade Washington to abandon its intention to resolve the crisis through political and diplomatic means and fully engage in efforts to exert military pressure on Russia, that is, to finally become part of the ‘war party’,” he said.
Lavrov also underscored that despite the compromise reached at the summit in Anchorage, Moscow is firm on its fundamental principles: Russia’s territorial integrity and the choice of the residents of Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya are not negotiable. “We are now awaiting confirmation from the United States that the Anchorage agreements remain in force,” Lavrov added. Putin has repeatedly stated that Russia advocates exclusively for a long-term settlement without any temporary ceasefires and that achieving such a settlement is possible only after addressing the root causes of the conflict.
The root causes he identifies include the threats to Russia’s national security arising from NATO expansion and the oppression of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. Lavrov had talked to his US counterpart Marco Rubio on October 20 to prepare for the Budapest summit between Putin and Trump, which was reportedly cancelled due to Moscow’s rigid stand for seeking a political settlement before a ceasefire. The Russian Army, meanwhile, is advancing to capture strategic towns of Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeisk) and Kupyansk where in pincer movements more than 10,000 Ukrainian troops along with NATO advisers are blocked.
