Lavrov dismisses Trump's quick fix for Ukraine conflict
Sergey Lavrov, the head of Russian diplomacy, has strongly responded to Donald Trump's declaration about the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine within a day. During his campaign, Trump repeatedly mentioned that he could quickly end the conflict through talks with Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
6:54 AM EST, November 14, 2024
Despite these promises, Donald Trump never presented a detailed plan, which caused skepticism from Lavrov.
I will not talk about it, I don't want to deal with it – briefly commented the Russian foreign minister, indicating that the former US president's proposals have little significance for him.
According to "Rzeczpospolita," Lavrov reacted with great reservation to various ideas for resolving the conflict. He claimed they are no different from previous agreements, although they take a new form.
The minister referred to the historical Minsk agreements, signed in 2014 and 2015, which were supposed to end the war in Donbas but did not bring lasting peace.
The proposals from those trying to present themselves as radically changing their positions and wanting to end the war are still about "relying on the front line," "agreements for 10 years," "then we'll see." But these are the same Minsk agreements, just in a new package. Even worse. The Minsk agreements were definitive – stated Lavrov, unequivocally rejecting any modifications to these arrangements.
Russian language and the rights of Ukrainians
Lavrov also accused the West of focusing on strategies to end the conflict without considering the rights of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine. The minister expressed dissatisfaction with the neglect of cultural and linguistic issues, asserting that the right to use the Russian language should be one of the fundamental conditions of the agreement.
Among those who, currently in the Republican Party camp, present so-called "revolutionary ideas" on how to end the conflict in Ukraine, no one ever mentioned that the people of Ukraine must regain the right to speak, learn, and teach children, and receive information in Russian – emphasized the head of the Russian MFA, expressing his opposition to the dominant perspective in the West.
Conflict as a tool to weaken Russia?
As "Rzeczpospolita" emphasizes, according to Lavrov, the US approach to the conflict in Ukraine and its influence in Europe aims solely to weaken Russia. The Russian minister suggests that a change of power in the US will change little in the approach to Russian interests, and Washington's strategic actions will not depend on who becomes president.
None of the "architects of the Ukrainian agreement" in the West attach importance to this – observed Lavrov, suggesting that the American administration may seek to maintain dominance in the NATO region, regardless of the future of the Ukrainian conflict.
According to the politician, both the current and future US administrations will aim to control the situation in Central Europe and NATO itself, which fits into a long-term strategy of controlling and weakening Russian influence in the region.
