New US ideas on a resolution in Ukraine have emerged as one of the issues Moscow is open to discussing. Alexey Fadeev, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of Information and Press, said Russia is ready to consider them if US negotiators present concrete and constructive proposals.
Fadeev said negotiations should be conducted on the basis of taking Russia’s legitimate interests into account. The Russian diplomat said this approach had been outlined before and that the Russian side had accepted the US proposal.
Moscow criticizes Washington’s position
Fadeev argued that the US statements on negotiations over Ukraine had been inconsistent. The Russian diplomat said the impression had emerged that, instead of pursuing cooperation within a common framework, Washington was asking Moscow to take new steps.
Reiterating that Russia’s security interests must be fully taken into account when the parameters of a future resolution are determined, Fadeev said Russia is ready to discuss concrete and constructive ideas presented by US negotiators.
Call for a political and diplomatic solution
Fadeev said Moscow preferred political and diplomatic means and could achieve its goals under any circumstances. He argued that escalating tensions by strengthening the Ukrainian army’s military capacity would be harmful and could produce unpredictable consequences.
The Russian diplomat called on all parties, including the United States, to focus on efforts toward a political and diplomatic solution. Fadeev said they opposed Western countries’ continued provision of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine and that this support should end.
He addressed the Lavrov–Rubio meeting
Fadeev said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov conveyed Moscow’s position during his meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Manila on July 23.
Fadeev also reiterated Russia’s accusations that the Ukrainian administration had carried out actions targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure using Western weapons.
