No understanding at talks between Russian and UK foreign secretary
UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Liz Truss held talks on Ukraine. However Lavrov has pointed to the lack of any kind of understanding during the talks.
“You know, we thoroughly discussed this today. Honestly, I’m disappointed, since there was no understanding, we were listening to each other but [didn’t manage to find common ground], the Russian top diplomat noted at a press conference following the talks.
Lavrov clearly brought out that not only Moscow denied plotting an alleged invasion of Ukraine. “Such statements were made not only by the Russian leadership but also by the Pentagon, I’ve read about this recently. <…> Ukrainian Defense Minister [Aleksey Reznikov] and President [Vladimir] Zelensky also urged people not to panic,” the foreign minister noted.
Furthermore, Lavrov also hinted that the West was using Zelensky to destabilize the situation in Russia. “Apparently, our Western colleagues need President Zelensky only as a mean to bring Russia out of balance. No one cares what he thinks, what negative consequences the Ukrainian economy can face <…>,” the top diplomat stated.
Concerns over Moscow’s alleged preparations for an invasion of Ukraine have been increasingly expressed in the West and in Kiev recently. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these statements as an empty and groundless escalation of tension, emphasizing that Russia posed no threat to anyone.
