Moscow - Saba:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday mocked the stance of some European leaders regarding the ceasefire in Ukraine.
In a statement to Russia's Channel One broadcast, Lavrov said "Various politicians, such as Macron, Starmer, and von der Leyen, have started shouting that the ball is in Russian President Vladimir Putin's court."
He added, "But three days before that, they were talking about rejecting any truce and about the need to supply Ukraine with weapons before sitting at the negotiating table, so that it would have a strong position."
"They changed their position immediately after the wind shifted."
The Russian Foreign Minister noted that in early March, Kyiv first announced its willingness to agree to a 30-day ceasefire and immediately demanded Moscow's approval.
He also emphasized that on the same day the truce agreement was announced, Kyiv launched a record number of drones targeting central Russia, and the West did not even condemn it.
Lavrov noted that US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff appears to have grasped the essence of the conflict in Ukraine, but regarding the timing of the truce, he overestimates European elites, who are trying to prevent Volodymyr Zelenskyy from "weakening," and Zelenskyy's own reluctance to take such a step, even though the Kyiv regime leader realizes his days are numbered.
Following a meeting of the Ukrainian and US delegations in the Saudi capital on March 11, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office published a joint statement between Ukraine and the United States, stating that Kyiv is ready to accept Washington's proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, with the possibility of extending it by mutual agreement. The document also stipulates that the United States will immediately lift the suspension of intelligence sharing and resume military supplies to Ukraine.
| more of (International) |