Lavrov: Moscow Stands for 'Negotiated Solution' in Ukraine

Moscow supports a settlement through peace talks with Ukraine, but Kyiv is uninterested in them, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.

Following a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow that if the Ukrainian delegation continues to ignore Russia's offers, the peace talks will fail.

"We favour a negotiated settlement. But the Ukrainian delegation's behaviour at the discussions, particularly President Zelenskyy's refusal to accept that they received our new ideas a week ago, is disheartening. They don't appear to be interested in bargaining "He stated.

Lavrov said that the Ukrainian authorities hope for Western military assistance to help them win the fight on the battlefield.

"If this continues, the talks would be fruitless," he said. "But I reiterate that we are committed to a negotiated solution and a cease-fire."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, for his part, expressed alarm about regular allegations of war crimes from both sides.

According to Guterres, such information requires a comprehensive examination, and while he favours independent inquiries, the UN secretariat lacks the capacity to conduct such activities.

The secretary-general stated that he proposed forming a trilateral group comprised of the United Nations, Russia, and Ukraine to address humanitarian issues.

"I recommended forming a humanitarian contact group that would bring together the UN, Russia, and Ukraine to look for opportunities to open safe corridors with a simultaneous cease-fire to ensure the functioning of these corridors," he said.

In terms of UN Security Council reform, both Lavrov and Guterres advocated for its expansion at the expense of underrepresented regions like Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Lavrov was questioned about the appointment of a Taliban representative as the Afghan ambassador to Russia.

The minister stated that receiving the Taliban's envoy does not imply recognition of the Taliban as Afghanistan's legitimate government, but Russia would want to move in that direction.

According to UN estimates, at least 2,665 civilians have been killed and 3,053 have been injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on the country on February 24, with the true tally expected to be significantly higher.

According to the UN refugee agency, more than 8.3 million Ukrainians have migrated to other nations.