Moscow: Europe failed to seize all its opportunities to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, and consequently, Russia walked away from negotiations and undermined previous deals aimed at settling the dispute between the two countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in press remarks Sunday. He stressed that Europeans thwarted all prior agreements to resolve the Ukraine conflict, adding that Europe has squandered all its chances.
According to Qatar News Agency, Lavrov emphasized that, contrary to the Europeans, the US looks at the situation in Ukraine with substantial rationality, with both Moscow and Washington continuing their conversations. Lavrov elaborated that the US administration is presumably pursuing a proper approach amid these circumstances and addressing the situation more accurately than its European allies, and accordingly, Russia continues its conversation.
Lavrov highlighted that whenever a solution appeared on the horizon, European countries exerted every effort, politically and materially, even to undermine the very foundations of the settlement. He added that the refusal to resume normal diplomatic work was, in fact, at the direct instigation of the European officials, impacting the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in 2022, which were significantly edging toward reaching understandings.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week, during his participation via video call in the Alliance of the Willing summit, which discussed the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, that his country is in contact with Russia and Ukraine to explore the possibility of holding direct negotiations between them in Istanbul. Notably, Russia and Ukraine have sat at the negotiation table twice in Istanbul under Turkish mediation, resulting in agreements on prisoner exchanges, before the process stalled due to mutual accusations between Moscow and Kyiv of not being serious about resolving the conflict between them.