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Military operation in Ukraine

Lavrov calls out sluggish US approach to negotiations on Ukraine

The Russian top diplomat pointed to the fact that the West lacked "a unified approach to how a peace settlement could be looked for" in Ukraine

© Valery Sharifulin/TASS

MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. Only the lazy ones are not calling for negotiations on Ukraine now, but the US argues that time is not ripe yet and Ukraine needs help on the battlefield, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Russian diplomacy in 2022 on Wednesday.

"As for negotiations, now only the lazy ones are not calling for them. Everyone is urging talks, but then [the assistant to the president of the United States for national security affairs] Jake Sullivan will say at a press conference somewhere, the way he does from time to time: ‘Time is not ripe for negotiations, we must help Ukraine to improve its positions on the battlefield’," Lavrov said.

He pointed to the fact that the West lacked "a unified approach to how a peace settlement could be looked for" in Ukraine.

"All this (the need for negotiations - TASS) is being said in order to be shown on TV and printed in the newspapers to make it look like some are for a peace settlement, but [Russian President Vladimir] Putin does not want it. We understand everything," Lavrov concluded.

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Foreign policy Sergey Lavrov Military operation in Ukraine

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