Moscow [Russia], September 19 : Russia is ready to reach a compromise with Ukraine provided its core interests are safeguarded, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, according to Russia Today.
Speaking in an interview aired on Channel One on Thursday, Lavrov noted that direct talks between Moscow and Kiev resumed in May in Istanbul after several years, but no breakthrough was achieved.
"Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly said that, at the end of the day, a sustainable agreement is a compromise. We are ready to pursue one on the condition that our legitimate security interests, as well as the legitimate interests of Russians living in Ukraine, are respected in the same way as those of other parties," Lavrov said, as reported by RT. He did not specify what compromises Moscow was prepared to consider.
Lavrov also criticised Kiev's domestic policies. "The utterly repulsive laws Ukraine has adopted since the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev aim to restrict the use of the Russian language in public," he remarked.
RT reported that Moscow has frequently cited Ukraine's treatment of its Russian-speaking minority, Kiev's NATO ambitions, and its refusal to recognise new borders following referendums in several former Ukrainian regions as the drivers of the ongoing conflict. Ukraine has rejected Moscow's peace terms.
Lavrov praised the approach of US President Donald Trump for reviving dialogue with Moscow. "Under Biden, sanctions have replaced all diplomatic efforts, and no one even attempted to pursue compromises," the minister said.
Although the rare Trump-Putin in-person meeting in Alaska last month did not yield immediate results, both sides described it as a constructive step at the time, RT noted.
Recently, Trump expressed frustration over the lack of progress but said he would not impose fresh sanctions on Russia unless all NATO members halted Russian oil purchases.
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