(Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Ukraine presented Russia with a draft peace deal the day before that included “unacceptable” points deviating from the tentative compromises already agreed, accusations that Kyiv described as “pure propaganda”.
The Kremlin believes talks with Kyiv are not progressing at a sufficient pace and accuses the West of seeking to derail talks by accusing the Russian military of war crimes in Ukraine, which Moscow rejects.
Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine presented a draft on Wednesday that deviated from the proposals the two sides had previously agreed to.
This new document, according to the head of Russian diplomacy, asks that the status of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, be on the menu of a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents, Volodimir Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.
It also provides that Ukraine can organize military maneuvers with foreign countries without the approval of Russia, a hypothesis to which the latter is opposed.
“This inability to reach an agreement once again highlights Kyiv’s true intentions, its determination to drag out and even undermine the talks by moving away from the agreements reached,” Sergei Lavrov said.
“Despite all the provocations, the Russian delegation will continue the negotiation process, pushing to come up with its own draft agreement that clearly and fully sets out our initial and essential positions and demands,” he added.
Ukraine says it wants to hold talks but rejects any compromise on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Mikhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency and member of the negotiating team, said he saw Sergey Lavrov’s remarks as a tactic to harm Ukraine and distract from war crimes charges against the army Russian.
“Making changes in our position to weaken it would be futile,” he said in written comments to Reuters. “Mr. Lavrov is not directly linked to the negotiation process, so his statements are pure propaganda.”
(Reuters office, French version Laetitia Volga and Jean Terzian, editing by Sophie Louet and Bertrand Boucey)