This was the comment of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov after a meeting on strategic cooperation with Arab countries in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 9.
Mr. Lavrov emphasized that the West's steadfast adherence to the so-called "peace formula" of Ukrainian President Zelensky shows that the West has no intention of negotiating with Russia on an equal basis.
"Mr. Zelensky's initiative has been known for a long time. It has become a sore point for everyone. It is just a pure ultimatum. The fact that the West pursues this ultimatum only means that the West does not want to negotiate honestly," the Russian Foreign Minister shared.
Foreign Minister Lavrov asserted that Russia had never even seriously considered Ukrainian President Zelensky's initiative and only expressed "surprise that there were still people supporting it."
According to the Russian diplomat, many discussions about a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict ignore the crucial factor that is also one of the fundamental reasons why Russia launched an offensive operation against Ukraine in 2022.
"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was time to start negotiations," Lavrov said, noting that German media had suggested that Russian-Ukrainian peace talks would be based on the fact that "the situation on the ground will have to be taken into account when resolving the territorial issue."
However, the Russian diplomat stressed that "the issue is not territory" and Moscow "never wants someone else's land", but what Russia wants is "people who are an integral part of the Russian world, Russian culture, Russian language, history, religion, treated humanely according to the requirements of international law".
Mr. Lavrov pointed out that while it would be relatively easy to determine the time and place for talks on Ukraine, it is more important to agree on what will be discussed at those peace talks.
"If we discuss the call for a ceasefire and think about exchanging territories, this is not a problem. But the problem is not the territories, the problem is the rights of those who have been trampled by the law," he said.
