Russia draws hard line against Western security guarantees for Ukraine
He claims any guarantees would only work with Moscow's co-operation.
The Russian Minister's remarks contradict Donald Trump's claim that Vladimir Putin agreed to European and US security guarantees at their summit in Alaska.
Mr Lavrov says any peace deal should be based on a Russian proposal which allows Moscow to veto any action by guarantors.
'We cannot agree with the fact that it's now proposed to resolve collective security issues without the Russian Federation – this will not work,' Mr Lavrov said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Donald Trump says Ukraine must take the fight to Russia to survive, as Zelensky prepares for possible Putin meeting
US President Donald Trump has said Ukraine must start launching direct strikes inside Russia if it has any hope of winning the war, warning that Kyiv's hands have been tied by weak Western leadership. 'It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader's country,' Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. 'It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defence, but is not allowed to play offence. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia.' The president accompanied his message with two photos - one showing him pointing at Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska last week, and another of Richard Nixon confronting Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Mr Trump again placed blame on his predecessor Joe Biden for allowing the conflict to erupt, saying the former president 'would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND'. Asked to clarify Mr Trump's position, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: 'The president is making an observation, which happens to be true.' Mr Trump's comments follow a shift among Western allies, with the US, UK and Germany recently lifting restrictions on Ukraine using Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia. However, Washington has so far withheld advanced weaponry such as Tomahawk missiles. The remarks come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin, but only after Western powers commit to concrete security guarantees to protect Ukraine from future aggression. 'We want to have an understanding of the security guarantees architecture within seven to 10 days,' Mr Zelensky said in comments released on Thursday. 'We need to understand which country will be ready to do what at each specific moment.' He said any such summit with Mr Putin must take place in a neutral European country, ruling out Moscow as a venue. Mr Zelensky also rejected any role for China, citing Beijing's support for Moscow throughout the war. Ukraine has also announced the successful test of a new long-range missile called Flamingo, capable of striking targets up to 3000 kilometres away. 'The missile has undergone successful tests. It is currently our most successful missile,' Mr Zelensky told reporters. But while diplomacy is underway, the conflict on the ground is escalating. Russia launched its largest barrage of missiles and drones since mid-July, killing at least one person in the western city of Lviv and injuring dozens more. Ukrainian officials also said a US-owned industrial complex in the town of Mukachevo was directly targeted. Nineteen people were wounded in that strike, according to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who posted on social media. France condemned the missile strikes, calling them the most intense assault in a month and proof that Moscow has no genuine interest in pursuing peace. A separate Russian shelling of Kherson later in the day killed one person and wounded more than a dozen. On the battlefield, Russia claimed to have captured the village of Oleksandro-Shultyne in Donetsk, a region that has seen some of the fiercest fighting of the war. The village lies just eight kilometres from Kostiantynivka, a heavily fortified Ukrainian town. Ukrainian forces said Russia is continuing to build up troops along the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region, one of five areas Moscow claims to have annexed. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of making unrealistic demands over the proposed post-war security guarantees, warning that any deployment of European troops in Ukraine would be 'absolutely unacceptable'. 'The rhetoric of the Ukrainian officials was directly showing that they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,' Mr Lavrov said. Despite his repeated calls for a peace deal, Mr Trump has made no secret of his belief that Ukraine must take a harder military stance if it wants to survive. Mr Zelensky has said the war can only end through direct dialogue with the Russian leader, and that he wants Mr Trump present when that meeting happens. But Moscow has so far shown little enthusiasm for a summit with the Ukrainian president.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Fight back': Trump airs support for Ukraine going on offensive against Russia
London: US President Donald Trump has slammed American policies that prevented Ukraine from launching full-scale attacks on Russia in order to win the war, posting a picture of himself pointing at the chest of Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to reinforce his point. Trump suggested Ukraine should have been able to fight with few restrictions over more than three years of war, in a startling post during a period of sensitive negotiations over a peace deal. He also drew a direct parallel with assertive American policy against Russia during the Cold War by adding a photograph of then US vice-president Richard Nixon pointing his finger at the chest of then Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with more missile and drone attacks in the early hours of Thursday, local time, despite calls from European leaders for a ceasefire so that the US, Ukraine and Russia could negotiate a settlement to the war. The latest bombings included a strike against an American electronics plant in Ukraine, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to cite this as proof of a deliberate Russian attack on US interests. Ukraine estimates that Russia has fired nearly 1000 long-range drones and missiles at Ukraine since talks on Monday when Zelensky and European leaders spoke with Trump for hours at the White House. Former US President Joe Biden placed restrictions on the way Ukraine could use some of the arms supplied since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, such as preventing long-range artillery being fired at targets on Russian soil.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
‘Fight back': Trump airs support for Ukraine going on offensive against Russia
London: US President Donald Trump has slammed American policies that prevented Ukraine from launching full-scale attacks on Russia in order to win the war, posting a picture of himself pointing at the chest of Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to reinforce his point. Trump suggested Ukraine should have been able to fight with few restrictions over more than three years of war, in a startling post during a period of sensitive negotiations over a peace deal. He also drew a direct parallel with assertive American policy against Russia during the Cold War by adding a photograph of then US vice-president Richard Nixon pointing his finger at the chest of then Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1959. Russia bombarded Ukrainian cities with more missile and drone attacks in the early hours of Thursday, local time, despite calls from European leaders for a ceasefire so that the US, Ukraine and Russia could negotiate a settlement to the war. The latest bombings included a strike against an American electronics plant in Ukraine, prompting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to cite this as proof of a deliberate Russian attack on US interests. Ukraine estimates that Russia has fired nearly 1000 long-range drones and missiles at Ukraine since talks on Monday when Zelensky and European leaders spoke with Trump for hours at the White House. Former US President Joe Biden placed restrictions on the way Ukraine could use some of the arms supplied since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, such as preventing long-range artillery being fired at targets on Russian soil.
