Russia firm on peace terms, NATO troops in Ukraine a red line
- Russia will avoid compromises that could threaten people's lives, declared Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in an interview published on Wednesday. He was discussing a potential peace agreement with Ukraine. A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow would independently make decisions on this matter.
The head of Russian diplomacy reiterated Russia's stance that under no circumstances will it accept the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine if a lasting peace agreement is reached.
As noted by Reuters, Lavrov's comments to local media were made on Tuesday, but the interview itself was published on Wednesday.
The spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, Maria Zakharova, quoted by Reuters, stated on Wednesday that Russia will make its own decisions regarding the conflict in Ukraine.
Formulating the position of the Russian Federation does not occur abroad due to certain agreements or efforts by some parties. Formulating the position of the Russian Federation takes place within Russia - said the spokesperson.
The chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachev, emphasized that any agreement concerning Ukraine will be accepted on Moscow's terms, not Washington's.
"Any agreements - with a full understanding of the need for compromise - will be on our terms, not American ones. And that is not boasting, but understanding that real agreements are still made there, on the front. What should also be understood in Washington," the deputy wrote in a post on Telegram.
"Russia is advancing in Ukraine, and therefore it will be different with Russia," Kosachev added.
Reuters, citing Russian media, reported that on Tuesday, the head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service Sergey Naryshkin had a phone conversation with the director of the American Central Intelligence Agency, John Ratcliffe. The topic of their conversation was expected to be cooperation between both intelligence agencies.
Ukraine agreed to the US proposal
After nine hours of talks on Tuesday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the Ukrainian side agreed to the American proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire, and the United States announced the resumption of halted military assistance to that country. Both sides also agreed to sign a resource agreement.
US President Donald Trump announced that there would be talks with Russia on Wednesday regarding the ceasefire and expressed hope that Moscow would accept the truce proposal. He suggested that he would also speak with Vladimir Putin later this week.
According to earlier reports, the US envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, will most likely go for talks with Putin on Thursday.
