Lavrov: ‘Russia Does Not Plan to Occupy Ukraine’

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov (R).

Published 25 February 2022 (3 hours 36 minutes ago)

by teleSUR/MS

In order for the negotiations to begin, Ukraine will have to guarantee that its territory will be neutral and free of weapons. If these conditions are met, Russia will conclude its operation.

On Friday, Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sergei Lavrov said his country has no purpose of occupying Ukraine and Moscow is ready to hold negotiations straight after the Ukrainian forces “lay down their arms.”

RELATED: UPDATE: Russia Disables 118 Military Facilities in Ukraine

“Russia will ensure the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine. We have suffered too much from Nazism, and the Ukrainian people suffered too much to just turn a blind eye to all this,” Lavrov said during a press conference.

“No one will abuse the Ukrainian soldiers, who can return to their families after ending hostilities,” Lavrov said, adding that his country has always been in favor of talks and there is still a chance for dialogue on Russia’s security concerns.

“We have always advocated a diplomatic solution. It was Russia that played a decisive role in laying a reliable foundation for a diplomatic solution, the Minsk agreements,” the minister said.

According to information released by the Kremlin on Friday, President Xi Jinping  assured President Vladimir Putin that China respects the Russian actions in the Ukrainian crisis.

The Chinese president’s statements occurred during a telephone conversation that had a “constructive and friendly” character and showed the coincidence of positions of the two countries regarding the main issues on the international agenda.

“The Russian president informed the Chinese president in detail about the reasons for his decision to recognize the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and to carry out a special military operation aimed at protecting the civilian population from genocide and ensuring the demilitarization and denazification of the Ukrainian state,” the Kremlin said.

View of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Pripyat, Ukraine.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *