BEIJING, April 15. /TASS/. Russia welcomed negotiations with the United States on the Ukrainian settlement and remains ready to continue them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told journalists following his official visit to China.

Lavrov emphasized that Moscow remains committed to the agreements reached at the summit with Washington in Anchorage, with President Vladimir Putin having repeatedly reaffirmed this position and that Russia accepted proposals made by the United States in Alaska in good faith, i.e. the de jure recognition of the "realities on the ground" in Ukraine. The top Russian diplomat contrasted this with statements by Vladimir Zelensky rejecting such recognition and describing territories including Crimea and Donbass as temporarily occupied, which Lavrov said differs from what was discussed in Anchorage.

Lavrov recalled that the process was initiated by US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that Moscow accepted proposals made by the United States at a 2025 meeting in Alaska in good faith, but also mentioned that the current US administration is maintaining and expanding sanctions introduced under former President Joe Biden, although currently relations between Moscow and Washington are not frozen, as they were during Biden's presidency.

While arguing that agreements reached at the Alaska summit are being blocked by European leaders in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and London, Lavroved stressed that the proposals by France and the United Kingdom to deploy "stabilization contingents" in Ukraine would require US technological support, noting that French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are promoting the idea but cannot implement it independently.

Lavrov added that Russia remains open to dialogue with other countries, including Hungary, where a new Prime Minister was just elected in Peter Magyar, stating that Moscow has never avoided engagement and that President Vladimir Putin has consistently demonstrated readiness for dialogue, while stressing that such talks are most meaningful when partners represent their countries’ national interests.