Washington is interested in looking at the root causes of the fighting between Moscow and Kiev, the Russian foreign minister has said
The US is seeking a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict, in contrast to the EU and UK, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
Russia has said any long-term settlement with Ukraine would only be viable if it addresses the “root causes” of the crisis, including Kiev’s aspirations to join NATO.
During a press conference on Friday, Lavrov said US President Donald Trump “every time” stresses his desire to stop the fighting between Moscow and Kiev.
“We see that, unlike [Western] Europe… which completely ignores the root causes of the current situation, in the US there is a desire to get to the bottom of this issue,” he stated.
The foreign minister noted that “President Trump has repeatedly said in public that drawing Ukraine into NATO – despite many years of warnings from Moscow against doing so – was a mistake that probably played a decisive role in the current events.”
Washington “also understands that a return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders, which is still being demanded by [Ukraine’s Vladimir] Zelensky, is impossible,” Lavrov added.
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