Russia insists Ukraine security guarantee talks must include Moscow
Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister, claims that talking about Ukraine’s security concerns without involving Russia is a “road to nowhere.”
Days after European leaders met with US President Donald Trump to discuss security assurances for Kyiv, Russia has cautioned that trying to handle Ukraine’s security difficulties without Moscow’s involvement is a “road to nowhere.”
We disagree with the current proposal to settle security and collective security issues outside of the Russian Federation. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, stated on Wednesday that this would not work.
“I’m confident that people in the West, and especially in the US, are well aware that having meaningful conversations about security matters without the Russian Federation is a pipe dream and will lead nowhere.”
The minister’s remarks follow two days after Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska and hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House with other notable European leaders.
More than three years after Russia invaded its neighbour, Trump is attempting to guide Putin and Zelenskyy towards a settlement, but significant challenges still exist.
Any conference between Putin and Zelenskyy, according to the Russian official, “must be prepared in the most meticulous way” to prevent a “deterioration” of the conflict’s circumstances.
Additionally, Lavrov charged that European leaders were attempting “clumsy attempts” to alter the US president’s stance on Ukraine. In reference to Monday’s meeting, he stated, “We have only seen aggressive escalation of the situation and rather clumsy attempts to change the position of the US president.”
“The Europeans there did not provide us with any helpful suggestions,” Lavrov continued. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, stated later on Wednesday that Kyiv has already started close communication with national security experts from NATO and Europe in order to achieve tangible military security assurances and deter future attacks.
“I had the first and very long coordination conversation with national security advisors representing Germany, Italy, France, the United Kingdom, Finland, as well as the EU and NATO as soon as I returned from Washington,” Yermak wrote in a Telegram statement.
Yermak warned of the repercussions if Moscow postpones peace negotiations, adding that Ukrainian military personnel have already started working on the guarantees’ defence components.
“The Russians must take the right actions, or else the world will continue to put them under extremely painful pressure,” he continued. He also thanked Trump, NATO, and European allies for their assistance, emphasising that Ukraine is ready for “any format of conversation about an honest end to the war.”
In an attempt to mediate a halt to Russia’s onslaught, NATO military commanders convened on Wednesday to go over the specifics of these possible security assurances for Ukraine.
Defence chiefs from throughout the alliance convened a video conference, according to the NATO Military Committee.Participating in the discussions was US General Alexus Grynkewich, who is in charge of NATO’s activities in Europe.
A coalition of 30 states, including European countries, Japan, and Australia, have agreed to support Kyiv’s European allies’ efforts to establish a force that might thwart any peace deal. Military leaders are thinking about the potential operation of the security force.
It’s unclear what part the US might play. Trump denied on Tuesday that the United States will send troops to support Ukraine’s defence against Russia.Russia has stated time and time again that it will not allow NATO forces to enter Ukraine.
Poland, a NATO member, claims that Russia is once more inciting its allies. Following an official’s statement that the object that crashed overnight in a cornfield in eastern Poland might have been a Russian variant of the Shahed drone, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz made the comments on Wednesday.
“Once more, a Russian drone is causing us to be provoked by the Russian Federation. He told reporters, “We are dealing with a pivotal moment, when discussions about peace [in Ukraine] are underway.”
Source: Aljazeera
