Russia-Ukraine crisis

Lavrov says Russia open to talks with West, awaiting serious proposal

Reuters

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

Lavrov says Russia open to talks with West, awaiting serious proposal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a session of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of parliament, to approve laws on annexing Ukraine's Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions into Russia, in Moscow, Russia October 3, 2022.

Russian State Duma/Handout via REUTERS

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov say Russia would not turn down a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden at a mid-November summit of the Group of 20 in Indonesia

LONDON, United Kingdom – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday, October 11, that Moscow was open to talks with the West on the Ukraine war but had yet to receive any serious proposal to negotiate.

In an interview on state TV, Lavrov said Russia was willing to engage with the United States or with Turkey on ways to end the war, now in its eight month.

His emphasis on Russia’s receptiveness to talks came after a series of stinging defeats since the start of September that have swung the momentum of the conflict in favor of Ukraine.

Lavrov said officials including White House national security spokesman John Kirby had said the United States was open to talks but that Russia had refused.

“This is a lie,” Lavrov said. “We have not received any serious offers to make contact.”

He also said Russia would not turn down a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden at a mid-November summit of the Group of 20 in Indonesia, and would consider the proposal if it receives one.

“We have repeatedly said that we never refuse meetings. If there is a proposal, then we will consider it,” Lavrov said.

Commenting on the possibility that Turkey could host talks between Russia and the West, Lavrov said Moscow would be willing to listen to any suggestions but could not say in advance whether this would lead to results.

He said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan would have an opportunity to put proposals to Russian President Vladimir Putin when both visit Kazakhstan this week.

Lavrov noted that direct talks between Russia and Ukraine had broken down at the end of March. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ruled out talking to Putin after Russia claimed the annexation last month of four Ukrainian regions that it partly occupies. – Rappler.com

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!