Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated that Russia will not agree to a simple delay of Ukraine’s NATO membership or the deployment of European peacekeeping troops to Ukraine – two ideas reportedly proposed by advisors to the designated US President Donald Trump as part of a potential peace agreement.
In an interview published on Monday by the TASS news agency, Lavrov said that Russia has not received any signals from Trump’s team for talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
“We have always been and remain ready for negotiations. But it is important to understand with whom and on what they should be held” he emphasized.
Lavrov further stated that Moscow will not accept the proposals published in the media by members of Trump’s team in the event of talks with the next US administration.
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly promised to find a rapid diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis, without providing concrete details on how he would achieve this goal.
The Wall Street Journal reported in November that Trump’s advisors had developed a plan to resolve the conflict. The proposal involves a two-decade delay in Ukraine’s NATO membership, a freeze on the conflict along the current front lines, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone controlled by European allies’ peacekeeping troops in Ukraine.
Lavrov said that peace between Moscow and Kiev can only be achieved through “reliable, legally binding agreements” that address the root causes of the conflict and contain mechanisms to prevent future violations.
The foreign minister pointed out that the Russian position on ending hostilities is “well-known” and has been repeatedly expressed by President Vladimir Putin on various occasions, including his year-end press conference in early December.
At this event, Putin reaffirmed that Moscow is open to talks with Kiev without preconditions, except for the conditions agreed upon in Istanbul in 2022. These conditions include a neutral, non-aligned status for Ukraine, which would prevent its NATO membership, as well as restrictions on the stationing of foreign weapons in the country. Putin also emphasized that the talks should take into account the realities that have emerged since 2022, including the status of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which, after referendums in the fall of 2022, have become part of Russia.