MOSCOW, May 16. /TASS/. China has offered to sort out the sources of the Ukrainian conflict and provide security guarantees to all, but the West is not ready for this, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalist Pavel Zarubin.
"This subject is being regularly discussed with our Chinese friends who have an absolutely correct position, essentially, to sort out root causes and collectively remove them, ensuring reliable security guarantees for everyone. The West is not ready for this," the top Russian diplomat said in a video posted on the journalist’s Telegram channel.
Currently, a two-day state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to China is underway. Lavrov is part of Russia’s delegation to Beijing.
In February 2023, the Chinese Foreign Ministry published a document outlining its position on settling the crisis in Ukraine. It consists of 12 provisions, including instituting a ceasefire, observing the legitimate security interests of all countries, resolving the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, carrying out POW swaps between Moscow and Kiev, and refraining from imposing any unilateral sanctions outside of the framework of a relevant UN Security Council decision.
China said that dialogue and talks were the "only way to settle the Ukrainian crisis" and called on all sides to support Moscow and Kiev in "moving toward each other" as well as to resume dialogue as soon as possible. It was stressed that the global community should foster conditions and provide a platform for the resumption of talks.