news

On August 19, local time, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov talked about the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in an interview with the All-Russian National Television and Broadcasting Company. Lavrov said,Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it clear that any negotiations are impossible after Ukraine's attack and even invasion of Kursk Oblast.Lavrov said that President Putin also said a very important thing, that is, "We will definitely evaluate this situation later."

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov (file photo). Source: CCTV News Client

Lavrov denied recent rumors, including that Russia and Ukraine had held secret contacts on the issue of energy facilities under the mediation of Qatar, and that Turkey was planning to try to mediate in the field of food security in some way, but on the premise of ensuring freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.

The Ukrainian army launched an attack on Russia's Kursk region on the 6th of this month, and then the two sides broke out in fierce conflict in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the situation on Russia's southern border on the 12th and said that Russia will resolutely respond to a series of provocations from Ukraine in the border area.

Russian Foreign Ministry: Ukraine ignores Russia's goodwill and Russia will not dialogue with Ukraine

In response to a report in the Washington Post that the Ukrainian armed forces' attack on Russia's Kursk Oblast disrupted the indirect talks between Russia and Ukraine planned to be held in Qatar on avoiding attacks on critical infrastructure, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said on the 18th local time that no one was disrupting anything because there was nothing to disrupt.There have been and are no direct or indirect negotiations between Russia and the Kiev authorities on the security of civilian critical infrastructure.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova (file photo). Source: CCTV News Client

Zakharova pointed out that the security threat to facilities including the Zaporizhia and Kursk nuclear power plants was posed by the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces and the complicity of the United States and other Western countries.

Zakharova believes that Ukraine has had several opportunities to resolve the crisis through negotiations, most recently in June this year after Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a peace initiative.The world saw Ukraine's response to Russia's goodwill gesture after the Ukrainian armed forces launched an attack on Kursk Oblast on August 6. Zakharova said, "As President Putin said, there is nothing to talk about with people who do such things."

In June this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed at a meeting with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Russia is always willing to negotiate with Ukraine on the Ukrainian issue. However, Putin said that the precondition for the negotiations is that the Ukrainian army withdraws completely from the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. After the Ukrainian withdrawal, Russia will immediately cease fire, and then the two sides will start negotiations, including on Ukraine's non-joining NATO. But Putin added that Ukraine should make its own decision.

Subsequently, Podoljak, the chief adviser of the Ukrainian presidential office, responded that Putin had not made a real peace proposal and had no intention of ending the war. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that Putin actually proposed an ultimatum aimed at misleading the international community and undermining the unity of most countries in the world guided by the UN Charter. Ukrainian President Zelensky also said that Putin's so-called ceasefire proposal was an "untrustworthy ultimatum" and the message it conveyed was no different from the past.

Russian Foreign Minister: Ukraine attacked Kursk Oblast at the instigation of the United States

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said in an interview with Russian media on the 19th local time:Ukraine attacked Kursk Oblast at the instigation of the United States.

Lavrov also said that the US statement has made the problem clear. They first said that Ukraine’s attack on Kursk Oblast had nothing to do with them, and then said that the Ukrainians had contacted them, but they did not agree with Ukraine’s decision.

Source: China News Service, compiled from: CCTV News Client