Russia has not set any preconditions for negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with Russian and foreign media.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov affirmed that Russia is ready for negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, provided that such negotiations address the root causes of the situation and take into account Russia's demands.
“We are ready for any negotiations, as long as they fundamentally discuss the core causes of the Ukrainian crisis and the main principles outlined by President Vladimir Putin in June when he addressed the Russian Foreign Ministry,” Lavrov explained.
According to Mr. Lavrov, the demands made by President Putin are not preconditions for negotiations. "These demands are to implement everything that we signed when we adopted the UN Charter," he said.
At a meeting with the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14, President Putin outlined his country’s conditions for resolving the situation in Ukraine. These include the withdrawal of Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Ukraine not joining NATO. In addition, Russia wants all Western sanctions to be lifted and demands that Ukraine commit to maintaining a non-aligned and nuclear-free status. The rights, freedoms and interests of Russian-speaking people must also be guaranteed.
