KEY POINTS
- Russian FM accuses Ukraine of rejecting a long-term peace deal.
- Lavrov says Ukraine seeking security guarantees incompatible with Russia’s demands.
- European leaders are exploring postwar security guarantees for Ukraine.
- Lavrov insisted Russia must have a veto over any postwar support for Ukraine.
- The US is working to arrange a bilateral Putin–Zelenskyy meeting.
MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said any presence of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable”, as Kyiv’s allies worked on security guarantees for the country.
“This would be absolutely unacceptable for the Russian Federation,” Lavrov said at a press conference in response to a question about security guarantees for Ukraine, calling them “foreign intervention in some part of Ukrainian territory.”
Lavrov said that Ukraine was “not interested” in a long-term peace deal, accusing it of seeking security guarantees incompatible with Russia’s demands.
“The Ukrainian regime and its representatives comment on the current situation in a very specific way, directly showing that they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,” Lavrov said.
European leaders are exploring possible security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, building on US President Donald Trump’s promise to back the country under any settlement with Russia.
France, Britain and Estonia have indicated they could send troops to a postwar Ukraine, while several other nations said they might take part, though much depends on US involvement.
After the recent meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US officials said the Russian President had accepted the prospect of Western security guarantees for Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not allowing Ukraine to “fight back” against Russia.
“It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out? … Interesting times ahead!!!” Trump wrote.
The Russian foreign minister said European proposals to deploy troops in Ukraine after a settlement would amount to “foreign intervention”. He insisted that Russia must have a veto over any postwar support for Ukraine.
Lavrov said Russia wanted to return to discussing a framework first proposed during the initial peace talks held in Istanbul in 2022, under which Moscow and Beijing would help guarantee Ukraine’s security alongside European allies.
“We support the principles and security guarantees that were agreed … in April 2022,” Lavrov said. “Anything else … is of course an absolutely futile undertaking.”
Lavrov said a bilateral meeting at the highest level would be possible only “if all issues requiring discussion are thoroughly prepared”.
He suggested that Putin would meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy only to accept Russia’s conditions.
The Russian foreign minister further questioned whether Zelenskyy had the legitimacy to sign any future peace accord.
The White House on Wednesday said that US officials are working to organise a bilateral meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
“President Trump and his national security team continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian officials towards a bilateral meeting to stop the killing and end the war,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News.
Speaking to foreign correspondents in Kyiv, Zelenskyy, who has agreed to meet Putin, said he would like a “strong reaction” from Washington if the Russian leader was not willing to sit down for a bilateral meeting with him soon.
“I responded immediately to the proposal for a bilateral meeting: we are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?” Zelenskyy said in comments released on Thursday from a briefing with reporters in Kyiv a day earlier.
