©Yuri Mikhailenko/TASS
Russia is ready for peace talks with Ukraine but it will not give up its conditions, Russian Ambassador to Great Britain Andrey Kelin said in an interview with the BBC on Sunday.
"We want peace, but on certain conditions, of course. For us, two things are important. That there will be no threat from Ukraine to Russia - this is one thing. And second, that Russians in Ukraine will be treated like all other nations in the world. Like French people are being treated in Belgium, or like Italians and Germans are being treated in Switzerland, not differently... That’s a grave violation of the Human Rights Declaration and of all documentation," Kelin said, as he described the developments in Ukraine in recent years as "extreme nationalism."
According to Kelin, Russia’s current military purpose is to liberate the Donbass from the occupation. He dismissed thinking that Ukraine may prevail as "a big idealistic mistake."
"We can make peace tomorrow, if the Ukrainian side is prepared to negotiate, but at the moment there are no preconditions for that, I am afraid, because the president of Ukraine has prohibited any negotiations," the Russian diplomat maintained, adding that he didn’t believe that simply freezing the conflict was a good idea. "It will not make a platform for a stable and long-term peace in Europe," Kelin explained.
The envoy reiterated the Russian nuclear doctrine does not envisage using nukes in the conflict in Ukraine. However, Kelin said that he was worried about a continued escalation of the conflict as he referred to weapons supplies to Kiev currently being ramped up.
West waging its war against Russia `on all fronts’ – Kremlin
Western countries are waging their war against Russia in all domains, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" TV show on Sunday.
"War is being waged in a broader sense. A war is being waged against us on all fronts, be it the economy, international relations, or in terms of ownership," he explained.
©Ilya Pitalev/POOL/TASS
Peskov urged Russia not to succumb to emotions and keep a sober mind in these circumstances. "We should remain focused and strong, and do... what best suits our interests, be tough but open to what could help us clearly communicate our concerns, and what we find unacceptable for ourselves, what will be fighting against," he maintained.
Reporter Pavel Zarubin posted an excerpt of the interview on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
Lavrov on F-16s for Kiev: Some in US-Led West Grasp This as Unacceptable Escalation
NATO allies recently pledged to deliver F-16 fighter jets to the Kiev regime, the latest addition to the list of lethal weapons the collective West has provided to Ukraine as it allegedly gears up for a major offensive against Russian forces.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the recent escalation over arms supplies to Kiev is unacceptable, and many people in the West comprehend this fact.
"Of course, this is an unacceptable escalation. I think there are still people in the West who understand this, but everything is dictated by Washington, London and their satellites who are in the European Union," Lavrov said in an interview, commenting on where the limit of escalation lies given the continuing arms deliveries to Kiev.
Earlier, the US-led military bloc pledged to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, the latest addition to the list of lethal weapons the West has provided to Ukraine as it gears up for a large-scale offensive against Russian forces. Yuri Sak, an adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, said that Kiev hopes to receive the first F-16s from foreign donors in late September or early October.
During the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, US President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Washington, along with its partners, was going to launch a program to train Ukraine’s military pilots to operate fourth-generation fighter aircraft, including F-16s.
Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said the potential transfer of F-16 jets to Ukraine raises the question of NATO’s involvement in the conflict.
Moscow had earlier sent a note to NATO countries over arms supplies to the Kiev regime. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine would be a legitimate target for Russia. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that NATO countries were "playing with fire" by supplying weapons to Ukraine.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that flooding Ukraine with weapons from the West would not contribute to the success of Russian-Ukrainian talks and would have a negative effect. Lavrov said the US and NATO were directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine "not only by supplying weapons, but also by training personnel... on the territory of [Great] Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries".
Lavrov lauds US general’s remark on Ukraine as first step toward understanding reality
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said a US general who questioned Kiev’s objective of regaining all of its territory was the first step toward understanding how things stand on Earth today.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley's doubts about Ukraine's ability to recapture the territory it has lost to Russia since February 2022 in near future is a step forward toward the West's understanding the reality on the ground, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.
"Today, I heard a statement by US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Mark Milley, who said that… Ukraine seemingly cannot expect to recapture all of its territory… in the near future; that is a step forward toward understanding how things stand on Earth now," Lavrov said in an interview with the "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin" TV show. An excerpt of the interview was posted by reporter Pavel Zarubin on his Telegram channel on Sunday.
"Of course, it is unacceptable escalation. I think that there are still people in the West who realize this, but it is Washington, London and their satellites inside the European Union that are dictating everything," Lavrov added.
Earlier in the week, Milley said that in the short term Kiev is likely unable to achieve its strategic objective, which is to return control of all the territory it has lost to Russia.
At a news conference following a virtual meeting of a West-led contact group of countries sending weapons to Kiev on Thursday, Milley said Ukraine is unlikely to recapture all of its territory in the near term. According to the US general, Kiev’s strategic objective of regaining the territories taken by Russian troops could be achievable militarily, but not any time soon.
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