Moscow indicates it has reviewed Trump's Ukrainian peace initiatives and expresses clear dissatisfaction
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed strategies linked to President-elect Donald Trump aimed at concluding the Ukrainian conflict.
During discussions with state media outlet TASS released Monday, Lavrov expressed criticism toward what he interpreted as Trump's approach.
Here is how he phrased it, per an English translation of the interview posted by Russian's foreign ministry:
"…their idea is to suspend hostilities along the line of contact and transfer responsibility for confrontation with Russia to the Europeans. We are not happy, of course, with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine's admission to NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine."
Trump has not formally revealed these strategies — they align with reporting from The Wall Street Journal, which referenced unnamed individuals close to the president-elect.
Throughout his campaign, Trump asserted he could terminate the Ukraine conflict within days, though declined to elaborate on methods.
Speaking to Time magazine December 12, as referenced by Lavrov, Trump maintained his reluctance to detail his strategy.
He expressed his desire to "reach an agreement," and characterized the war's death toll as unsustainable.
This represents a notable departure from President Joe Biden's stance of providing unlimited assistance to Ukraine while deferring negotiation timing with Russia to Ukrainian leadership.
In his Time magazine conversation, Trump criticized Biden's authorization of expanded Ukrainian strikes into Russian territory, suggesting this intensified the situation.
Lavrov's rejection of these suggested approaches follows Putin's December 26 statement opposing a 20-year freeze on Ukraine's NATO membership prospects.
Lavrov indicated Russia seeks terms "that would eliminate the root causes of the conflict and seal a mechanism precluding the possibility of their violation."
Moscow has consistently maintained that its 2022 comprehensive invasion of Ukraine was initiated to prevent NATO's potential expansion eastward, referring to the defense alliance that has historically contained Russian influence in Europe.
Western nations and Ukraine maintain that Ukraine posed no threat to Russia, arguing instead that Putin aims to acquire former Soviet territories.
The Institute for the Study of War, an American research organization, interprets Lavrov's statements as suggesting Russia will likely reject "any compromises" regarding its demands for permanent Ukrainian neutrality and military dissolution.