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Lavrov slams West’s pouring cold water on Russia-Ukraine peace talks as 'underhanded ploy'

According to the top Russian diplomat, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly maintained that Moscow is not rejecting negotiations per se, while insisting that any talks could be held only if they duly take into account Russia’s legitimate interests and concerns

ANKARA, April 7. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov disparaged Western declarations that bringing an end to the hostilities in Ukraine was impossible as an "underhanded ploy" on Friday.

"Against the backdrop of the statements being issued in Kiev, Washington and Brussels that under no circumstances should military operations be stopped or negotiations be started <…> we, absolutely, understand that all of this adds up to an underhanded ploy," Lavrov said at a news conference following talks with top Turkish diplomat Mevlut Cavusoglu.

According to Lavrov, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly maintained that Moscow is not rejecting negotiations per se, while insisting that any talks could be held only if they duly take into account Russia’s legitimate interests and concerns, which Moscow has been setting forth for years in discussions with NATO and its other colleagues in the West.

"What we should be discussing is precisely on which foundational principles should we base a new world order, which we all need in place of the [current] unilateral world order, the world order ruled by a single hegemon," Lavrov maintained.

The Russian foreign minister also said that, together with the overwhelming majority of other nations, Russia was pushing for a new world order that would be underpinned by the principles of the United Nations Charter, which the West is currently blatantly violating.