Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, that Russia is open to negotiations on a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, but on the condition that it accepts the territorial acquisitions received by the Russian army.

“We are open to a political-diplomatic solution based on respect for our legitimate interests, taking into account the realities created over many years and which have led to the current situation,” Sergey Lavrov said, reports the EFE news agency, citing Agerpres. .

But “those who declared war on us do not have any substantial offer, and given the conditions in which they do not want to take into account our interests and the situation on the ground, there is little chance of reaching an agreement at the negotiating table.” . There are no such options,” said the head of Russian diplomacy. Therefore, “it is not possible to talk about the negotiation table at the moment,” he noted.

This is due to the fact that Washington and its allies continue to “dream of a strategic defeat” of Russia, although, having seen the recent advance of Russian troops on the battlefield, “the West is no longer talking about its victory, but about how to prevent it.” (Russian President Volodymyr) Putin from victory,” Lavrov continued.

Earlier, both the Kremlin and an unnamed U.S. official said Reuters reports, citing three Russian sources, that late last year and early this year, Putin offered Washington, through intermediaries, a ceasefire in Ukraine and a freeze on the conflict along the front line, with Russia leaving already occupied Ukrainian territories, but Washington rejected this proposal, including the argument that it does not want to discuss a ceasefire without Ukraine.

In an interview last week with American journalist Tucker Carlson, Vladimir Putin said that the United States controls the government in Kyiv, and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is only listening to Washington’s instructions, which tells him not to negotiate, so any negotiations depend on the United States.

The last Russian-Ukrainian peace talks took place in March-April 2022 in Istanbul, a month after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Later, Kyiv conditioned any negotiations with Moscow on the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine (including Crimea) and the restoration of the borders of this internationally recognized country. For its part, Russia has since asked Kyiv to accept the loss of Crimea and Ukrainian territories occupied by the Russian army, and accuses Ukrainian leaders of walking out of talks in Istanbul because Washington asked them to do so.

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