The Daily Star Ireland
Russia is open to working with Donald Trump’s incoming administration to improve bilateral relations, provided the US shows genuine intent to do so, according to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. However, Lavrov emphasized that the first move must come from Washington.
Trump, set to take office as US president on January 20, has branded himself as a dealmaker and has vowed to quickly end the war in Ukraine. However, he has yet to outline a specific plan, beyond suggesting he would get President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to cease hostilities.
Keith Kellogg, Trump’s designated envoy for Ukraine and a retired Lieutenant-General, stated on Fox News on December 18 that both sides were ready for peace talks and that Trump was well-positioned to broker a deal.
Lavrov remarked that if the new US administration’s signals to restore dialogue disrupted by the US after the start of Russia’s “special military operation” (war in Ukraine) are serious, Russia would respond. He pointed out that since the US halted the dialogue, it should initiate its resumption.
The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, displaced millions, and caused the most significant rift between Moscow and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
US officials view Russia as a corrupt autocracy and a major threat to the United States, accusing it of election interference, jailing US citizens on false charges, and conducting sabotage campaigns against US allies. In contrast, Russian officials see the US as a declining power that has repeatedly disregarded Russian interests since the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991, attempting to sow discord within Russia to further US goals.
Regarding peace in Ukraine, Reuters reported last month that Putin is open to discussing a ceasefire with Trump but refuses to make substantial territorial concessions and demands that Kyiv abandon its NATO membership ambitions. Currently, Russia controls about 20% of Ukrainian territory.
Lavrov stressed that Russia is not interested in a temporary truce but seeks a legally binding agreement for lasting peace that ensures the security of both Russia and its neighbors. He emphasized that any truce would lead nowhere and called for final legal agreements that address the security needs of Russia and its neighbors, ensuring these agreements cannot be violated.
Putin has maintained that the West, led by the United States, ignored Russia’s interests after the Soviet Union’s dissolution, attempted to bring Ukraine into its sphere since 2014, and used Ukraine to wage a proxy war to weaken and ultimately destroy Russia. Following the ousting of a pro-Russian president in Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution, Russia annexed Crimea and supported pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The West views Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as an imperialistic land grab that has strengthened NATO and weakened Russia. Zelensky recently stated that Ukraine’s NATO membership is achievable but acknowledged that Ukraine must fight to convince Western allies to make it happen.
