Russia announces requirements for starting talks with Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, photo: Getty images.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has voiced a list of requirements that Moscow sets for the start of negotiations with Ukraine.

He said this in an interview with the Brazilian newspaper O Globo, which was published on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The main demands include

Advertising

• Ukraine's refusal to join NATO and the consolidation of its neutral status;
• the so-called «demilitarisation» and «denazification» of Ukraine;
• recognition of Russian sovereignty over the occupied territories;
• lifting of Western sanctions, lawsuits and arrest warrants against Russian officials, as well as the return of frozen assets;
• security guarantees for Russia.

In addition, according to Lavrov, a prerequisite for starting a dialogue is the lifting of the ban on direct talks with Russia, which was introduced by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2022.

Earlier, Lavrov also said that Moscow has no plans to transfer control of the Zaporizhzhia NPP and is not going to make territorial concessions.

It should be noted that the Russian president's spokesman Dmitrii Peskov said that Russia expects Ukraine to signal its readiness for direct negotiations. According to him, Russia is ready to start negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions.

Earlier, the Kremlin reported that Vladimir Putin had confirmed his readiness to hold talks with Ukraine without preconditions at a meeting with US Special Envoy Steve Vitkoff.

It was also reported that US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment over the Russian missile strike on Kyiv and said he was not sure about Vladimir Putin's readiness to end the war.