Lavrov accuses Ukraine of breaking US-brokered deal terms
ANTALYA
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's administration for dismissing a prospective U.S. proposal for a temporary ceasefire between the warring states.
"Immediately after this was announced by the Americans, the Zelensky administration said that 'NATO is not your business, we will not discuss territories, we need weapons and more weapons,'" he said at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum on April 12, referencing a reported U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
The Russian top diplomat said the "contradictory position of Ukraine’s leadership hinders the process."
"And all this happened during the discussion of the so-called peacekeeping operation. Zelensky said they don't need peacekeepers, they need fighters. The schizophrenia of these mutually exclusive statements is obvious," Lavrov added.
Details of the prospective deal were not released, but it appeared to mark another attempt to ensure safe Black Sea shipping after a 2022 agreement brokered by Türkiye and the U.N. but halted by Russia the following year.
The Russian diplomat also addressed broader relations between Moscow and Washington, saying talks continue on normalizing embassy operations but voicing frustration over past and current U.S. policies.
Lavrov criticized previous administrations, noting that under former President Barack Obama, several Russian diplomatic properties were seized and staff reduced. He accused President Joe Biden’s administration of continuing such policies by freezing Russian assets.
He claimed U.S. officials are now considering using accrued interest from those assets to finance Ukraine, calling it “repulsive reasoning.”
“It reveals that the neo-colonial mentality has never abandoned these individuals,” Lavrov said.
In response to a question, Lavrov said there were no contacts between Russia and Ukraine at the forum in southern Türkiye.
