Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday accused Western powers of deliberately obstructing peace negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict, as US President Donald Trump’s efforts to broker a high-level meeting between the warring leaders appeared to stall.
In an interview with state broadcaster Rossiya, aired on Telegram, Lavrov alleged that Western nations were “looking for a pretext to block negotiations.” He criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for “obstinately insisting, setting conditions, demanding an immediate meeting at all costs” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
According to Arab News, Lavrov further claimed that Kyiv was attempting to derail the framework set out by earlier discussions involving Putin and Trump, which he said had “yielded very good results.” He expressed hope that “attempts to disrupt the process will be thwarted.”
Despite Trump’s push, as cited in Aljazeera, for a bilateral summit between Putin and Zelensky, Moscow announced Friday that “no meeting” was currently planned. The Kremlin has rejected any talks on security guarantees for Ukraine, arguing that such issues cannot be discussed without Russia’s involvement.
Zelensky, however, has insisted that security assurances from allies are a precondition to any direct meeting, saying they are necessary to deter future Russian aggression. “Russia is trying to wriggle out of holding a meeting,” he said earlier this week, accusing Moscow of prolonging the conflict.
Tensions have also escalated over the possibility of European troops being stationed in Ukraine, with Lavrov calling such a move “absolutely unacceptable.”
