Russia ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine – Lavrov
Moscow is willing to address the issue within a broader Eurasian framework, the foreign minister has said
Moscow is ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Lavrov emphasized, however, that any talks must take place within a broader Eurasian framework in order to address larger geopolitical issues.
“We are ready to discuss security guarantees for the country that is now called Ukraine, and parts of that country which have not yet determined their status, unlike Crimea, Donbass, and Novorossiya [the union of the Donbass republics],” Lavrov stated during the briefing.
Moscow considers the Crimean peninsula as well as Kherson and Zaporozhye regions and the Donetsk, and Lugansk people’s republics as integral parts of its territory. Crimea joined Russia after a referendum following the Western-backed armed coup in Kiev in 2014, while the other regions were incorporated in 2022 after referendums supported by the local populations.
Lavrov emphasized that any such discussions would need to consider the broader Eurasian framework.
“The Eurasian context will be predominant in those negotiations because the western part of the continent cannot separate itself from such giants as Russia, China, India, the Persian Gulf, [and] the whole of Southeast Asia with hundreds of millions of people including Bangladesh and Pakistan,” he explained.
He further highlighted the importance of regional solutions, saying: “We have to shape the continent in order to make sure that affairs in the central part of this continent, in Central Asia, in the Caucasus, in the Far East, in the Strait of Taiwan, in the South China Sea are resolved by the countries of the region.”
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has expressed a desire to secure a peace agreement with Russia within the year, emphasizing the need for strong security guarantees from Western supporters.
Zelensky has consistently advocated for firm security assurances, identifying NATO membership as the optimal solution for Ukraine’s long-term security.
Moscow, however, has contended that Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO were among the root causes of the ongoing conflict, maintaining that any settlement must result in the country’s neutrality and demilitarization.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his readiness to engage in dialogue with Kiev, noting that any peace settlement must begin with Ukraine ceasing military operations and acknowledging the current territorial realities.
In July, Putin said Ukraine had the right to ensure its security but emphasized that this should not come at the expense of Russia’s safety.
“Every country has the right to ensure its security and choose the means it deems appropriate,” Putin stated. However, he stressed that achieving the security of one nation must not create threats for another.
Putin expressed hope that this principle would be considered in discussions about Ukraine’s security. The Russian leader highlighted a draft agreement from the Istanbul talks, which detailed security guarantees for Ukraine.
Putin said the document was “broadly acceptable” to Russia but accused Ukraine of discarding it.
“It was thrown into the trash by the Ukrainian regime,” he noted.
Moscow has also dismissed the idea of a temporary truce, arguing that freezing the conflict would allow Kiev to regroup and prepare for further hostilities.
