ST. PETERSBURG, June 5. /TASS/. Russia notes no progress in the settlement around Ukraine almost a year after the Anchorage summit and no desire to convince the Kiev regime to accept Washington’s proposals, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Izvestia on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
“On August 15, it will be one year since the Alaska summit was held to consider American proposals on Ukraine. The Russian leadership accepted these proposals. And since then, we have not seen any progress, no desire to convince Ukraine to accept these American proposals,” he said.
He also said that all sanctions imposed by former US President Joe Biden continue to be extended.
“And the sanctions of the Donald Trump administration have already been added: Lukoil, Rosneft, and many others,” Lavrov said.
The Pentagon, he continued, openly supports not only European purchases of American weapons for Ukraine, but also joint programs with Ukrainians to develop various types of weapons. “The Pentagon’s budget includes an article in this area to ensure assistance to Ukraine’s security for the period up to 2029. In other words, this is no longer the Biden legacy, this is the decision of the current administration,” the minister stressed.
“Our American colleagues, including the two negotiators you’ve mentioned (Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – TASS), say: ‘If only we could get rid of Ukraine, get rid of this problem that we inherited, and [then] we would have joint mutually beneficial projects, but Ukraine needs to be settled,’” the Russian Foreign Minister cited the position voiced by official Washington.
According to Lavrov, when Moscow hears this, it assumes that, from the Russian point of view, “Ukraine was settled in Anchorage last August, if it depends on the Russian Federation. The proposal of the United States was accepted, they acted as an intermediary. But for some reason, when one side accepted their mediation offer, they somehow cooled down to this process and did not exert any pressure on Ukraine.”
