Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the emphasis is on the mutual provision of guarantees.

Russia is ready to guarantee the legitimate security interests of the other participants in the process in the event of a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, if it receives the same guarantees, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview published in the newspaper Izvestiya on Friday.

According to Lavrov, the 12-point peace initiative put forward by Beijing in February 2023 contains sane things, and Russia has responded positively to the document.

Contrary to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's "foolish formula from the point of view of diplomatic perspectives", the Chinese document started from the analysis of the causes of what happened and the need to eliminate them. The plan establishes the lack of order in the field of security in Europe and the world, and the reason for this is that they do not enforce the UN Charter - this is our position, Lavrov said.

He pointed to the provision of the Chinese document, according to which the unilateral sanctions, which the West "started actively resorting to long before the start of the special operation, are also an irritant that must be eliminated."

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, based on this, it is necessary to agree to ensure equal security for all participants in the process. How these principles can be put into practice can only be understood by sitting at the negotiating table.

    "But not on the basis of the terms of the peace formula, which Zelensky and his masters in Europe, London and the United States have been repeating as an ultimatum for a long time, but on the basis of a serious analysis of the existing security problems, the recognition of the realities on the ground and the guarantee of the legitimate security interests of the Russian Federation. For our part, we are ready to guarantee the legitimate security interests of other participants in the process"

said the head of Russian diplomacy.

According to the minister, everyone knows the realities "on the ground". Firstly, this is the situation on the battlefield, and secondly, the legitimate interests of the population living in Novorossiya and the Donets Basin.

The minister drew attention to the fact that the West is "suspiciously actively proving" that the attack on the Crocus City Hall cultural center in Krasnogorsk was carried out by the Islamic State terrorist organization, and that no one else can be suspected, especially not Ukraine.

Lavrov said: the investigation is still ongoing, new circumstances are coming to light, but "we have no right to rule out the obvious versions". In addition, the defendants of the attack fled to Ukraine when they were detained, he noted.

    He believed that Ukraine is only the tip of the iceberg in the confrontation between Moscow and Western countries. The latter's declared goal is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and isolate it along its borders.

With this approach, the United States calls on Russia to hold a dialogue on strategic security, but according to Moscow, this is only possible on the condition that the parties are equal, and by no means during the direct confrontation in Ukraine.

By the way, Lavrov expressed Russia's readiness to dialogue with the United States on the bilateral exchange of imprisoned persons based on the 2021 Geneva agreement between Russian Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden.

MTI

Cover photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov - MTI/EPA-KEYSTONE