Moscow rejected the ceasefire: Lavrov made a cynical statement

Top Russian officials contradict themselves in adjacent sentences.

Russia does not agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine , but the aggressors are still Europe and Ukraine. This cynical statement was made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a meeting of the “Diplomatic Club”. The video of the speech is published on the department’s website .

“Neither Berlin, nor Paris, nor Brussels, nor London want peace in Ukraine,” Lavrov said, immediately rejecting the proposal for a ceasefire proposed by Ukraine, the United States, and Europe. According to him, the ceasefire is supposedly needed to prepare Ukraine for the continuation of hostilities.

At the same time, Lavrov referred to Moscow’s “position” from last year about not concluding a temporary ceasefire and thus preventing Ukraine from “pumping up” weapons.

At the same time, the direct refusal to accept the ceasefire did not prevent Lavrov from accusing the West of “rushing” into confrontation with Russia. The only one the Russian Foreign Minister praised was Trump. Lavrov called the chaos created by the new president in US domestic and foreign policy a “return to normality.” The aggressor’s representative also expressed his satisfaction that talks with Russia had begun again under Trump.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting to TASS on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s proposal for direct talks with Putin in Turkey, said that the Russian dictator does not plan to visit Istanbul in the near future. According to Peskov, Putin has set the tasks and determined the negotiating position of the delegation sent to Turkey, and will now wait for reports from them.

Negotiations in Turkey

As UNIAN reported, last week Volodymyr Zelensky summoned Putin for face-to-face talks in Turkey on May 15. The day before, it became known that, in addition to Zelensky himself, the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Zelensky’s diplomatic advisor Ihor Zhovkva, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga were to travel to Ankara . That is, the most representative delegation.

However, from the Russian side, the delegation turned out to be a complete sham. Not only did Putin, who alone makes all important decisions in the Russian Federation, not go to the negotiations, but even his main subordinates. The delegation did not include a single minister , only their deputies and various consultants. Analysts note that the delegation sent by Putin cannot make any decisions at all .

(C)UNIAN 2025