Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Ukraine’s terms for resuming talks with Moscow are “unrealistic,” in statements he made during the G20 summit.
“I said again that all the problems are connected with the Ukrainian side, which categorically rejects the negotiations and puts forward conditions that are clearly unrealistic,” Lavrov told reporters, noting that he expressed this position during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Russian and Ukrainian officials held several fruitless rounds of talks early in the conflict, including meetings organized by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This summer, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement with the United Nations and Turkey to resume exports from Ukrainian ports to allow grain exports.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Kyiv cannot negotiate peace with Moscow as long as Russian President Vladimir Putin remains in power.
Lavrov told German Chancellor Olaf that “Schultz and Macron are well aware that this process is hindered by Ukraine, which, including through laws and decrees issued by Zelensky, prohibits negotiations with the Russian Federation.” “This is not a question” addressed to Russia, he added.
“We want to see tangible evidence that the West is seriously interested in the capture of Zelensky, and make it clear that this cannot continue, and that this is not in the interests of the Ukrainian people,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy issued a video message to G-20 leaders calling for pressure on Russia to withdraw its troops after nearly nine months of fighting.
