The situation on earth for settlement on Ukraine has changed a lot since 2022, including in legal terms. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in an interview with the American magazine Newsweek.
"The basis for the settlement could be the Istanbul agreements initialed on March 29, 2022 by the delegations of Russia and Ukraine. They provide for Kiev's refusal to join NATO and contain guarantees of Ukraine's security while recognizing the realities prevailing on earth at that time," the minister said. "It is clear that since then, in more than two years, these realities have changed significantly, including in legal terms."
Lavrov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 14 named the following prerequisites for a settlement: complete withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, recognition of territorial realities enshrined in the Russian constitution, neutral non-aligned nuclear-weapon-free status of Ukraine, its demilitarization and denazification, ensuring the rights, freedoms and interests of Russian-speaking citizens, as well as cancellation of all anti-Russian sanctions. Kiev, according to him, "reacted to this statement with an armed invasion of the Kursk region on August 6."
"His patrons, represented by the United States and other NATO countries, want to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia. In these conditions, we have no choice but to continue the special military operation until the threats emanating from Ukraine are eliminated," the head of Russian diplomacy stressed.
The position of the Russian Federation, as the Foreign Minister noted, is well known and remains unchanged: "Russia is open to a political and diplomatic solution, it should eliminate the root causes of the crisis." At the same time, Lavrov continued, "it should be about ending the conflict, not about a cease-fire."
"The West should stop the supply of weapons, and Kiev should stop the fighting. Ukraine must return to a neutral, non—aligned and nuclear-free status, protect the Russian language, and respect the rights and freedoms of all its citizens," he explained.
The costs of the conflict, according to the minister, "are greatest for Ukrainians, whose leadership drives them, without regret, to slaughter," and "for Russia it's about protecting their people and vital security interests."
"In contrast, by the way, to the United States, where they talk about some kind of "rules", "lifestyle" and the like, apparently poorly understanding where Ukraine is and what the stakes are in this war," Lavrov added, according to TASS.