Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday asserted that European countries have missed their opportunities to play a meaningful role in resolving the Ukrainian conflict.
“Each time when progress was achieved and agreements reached – either interim or more stable, long-term – these agreements were broken,” the Russian state-run news agency TASS quoted Lavrov as saying while addressing a press conference in Moscow.
“Today, when our European colleagues loudly declare that there will be no new Minsk (agreements), that we cannot resolve anything at all without Europe, because this directly concerns us, I should say that Europe has failed completely since 2014,” he added.
Lavrov further said, “So Europe, when they say now: ‘Don’t you dare do anything without us,’ you already had opportunities, you didn’t use them, you simply failed to act.”
He also stated that Russia does not consider France and Germany as possible mediators in settling the conflict.
“The Minsk process was a negotiation between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by France and Germany, as they believe. Well, now there can be no question of any mediation by either France or Germany,” Lavrov stated.
Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Minister expressed appreciation for Washington’s position, noting its active role in resolving the Ukrainian conflict.
“We appreciate the mediation of Belarus, the mediation of Turkey, and the position of Hungary, which is eager to host the summit between Russia and the United States that was proposed by President Donald Trump,” said Lavrov.
“And, of course, we appreciate the position of the United States itself, which is the only country in the West taking the initiative to find ways to settle the conflict unlike London, Brussels, Paris, and Berlin. I reiterate that we appreciate it,” he added.
The Trump administration reportedly drafted a new 28-point plan and held quiet and deep consultations with Russia in a renewed push to restart peace talks aimed at ending the Ukraine crisis.
Confirming that Moscow has received President Trump’s plan for Ukraine through unofficial channels, Lavrov said that Russia is ready to discuss it.
“We have it; we received it through unofficial channels. It wasn’t sent to us officially. However, just as the [Russian] president said, we are ready to discuss its content because there are a number of issues that require clarification,” the Minister stated.
“Our American colleagues have not yet provided us with the version the media are speculating about,” he added.
(IANS)
