Russia is preparing for a new round of negotiations with Ukraine, according to Russian media reports quoting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at an international meeting of senior security officials. At the same time, the Kremlin’s rhetoric indicates not a willingness to compromise, but an attempt to legalize its demands in circumvention of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
In particular, Lavrov said that Moscow insists on “the non-nuclear and neutral status of Ukraine” as a prerequisite for any form of settlement. At the same time, Russia demands that Kyiv repeal all “discriminatory laws,” referring in particular to laws on language, decolonization, and restrictions on pro-Russian influence.
The Kremlin is once again promoting the narrative that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO was the “trigger for the war,” effectively absolving itself of responsibility for the aggression of 2014 and 2022.
“Negotiations are better than war, but the root causes of the conflict must be eliminated,” Lavrov said, repeating the usual propaganda tropes about “Western guilt.”
He also again accused NATO of escalation, mentioning the Alliance’s “threatening presence” near Russia’s borders and calling NATO membership a “source of trouble” for countries that “allow the Alliance to come to them.”
Separately, Lavrov stressed that “the West’s unilateral approach to territorial integrity is unacceptable to Russia,” effectively denying once again the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.