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Lavrov takes ex-NATO chief to task over Ukraine consulting scheme

The initial concept of the agreement implied that it would "contain Ukraine’s obligations on non-accession to blocs, a non-nuclear status and guarantees of neutrality" but Kiev is steering away from that concept, the Russian Foreign Minister also pointed out

MOSCOW, May 26. /TASS/. Efforts by international consulting group working on Ukraine with the participation of NATO’s ex-Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen to "cobble together some guarantees" within a narrow circle and then present them to Russia is a dead end, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview for RT Arabic, published Thursday.

"Information has surfaced that NATO ex-Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is creating, at the behest of the Ukrainians, some kind of group that will hammer out guarantees for Ukraine in the context of a peaceful settlement. <…> If Rasmussen was summoned to cobble together some guarantees through a narrow circle of Western sponsors of the Kiev regime, and then to try to present them to the Russian Federation - well, that’s a dead end," Lavrov maintained.

He pointed out that the initial concept of the agreement implied that it would "contain Ukraine’s obligations on non-accession to blocs, a non-nuclear status and guarantees of neutrality," as well as guarantees for Kiev from a number of states that will take the interests of Ukraine, Russia and other regional states into consideration.

"Now, as I’ve already said, Kiev is steering away from that concept here," the top diplomat underscored.

On Tuesday, Head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andrey Yermak announced the creation of an international consulting group that would cobble together proposals on security guarantees for Ukraine.

According to Yermak, the group will involve political, diplomatic and security-related figures, as well as scientists. Yermak explained that the group is being created by Kiev in cooperation with NATO ex-Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

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Ukraine crisis Ukraine Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Ministry NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen

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