Peace negotiations on Ukraine are only possible if they aim to establish a “new world order” without American domination, the Russian Foreign Minister said on Friday during a trip to Turkey.
Sergei Lavrov also threatened to end the agreement allowing Ukrainian grain exports, essential to ensure global food security and to make it possible to send Ukraine’s important agricultural production outside its borders.
” The negotiations [de paix sur l’Ukraine] can only take place on the basis of taking Russian interests into account,” the Russian minister said during a press conference with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Cavusoglu.
“These are the principles on which the new world order will be founded,” he added, denouncing American “hegemonism”.
Russia justified its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by claiming in particular that NATO and the United States were using their Ukrainian ally to attack Russia.
Before invading this neighboring country, Moscow had demanded security guarantees involving in particular a withdrawal of the Atlantic Alliance of Eastern Europe.
The Kremlin also considers that the West is waging a proxy war in Ukraine by providing Kiev with military aid, another way of explaining the inability of the Russian army to impose itself on the battlefield.
This month, the Russian presidency has repeatedly said that it sees no opportunity for negotiations and has no “other solution than to continue the special military operation”, the Russian euphemism to describe its offensive in Ukraine.
The Kremlin thus immediately ruled out possible Chinese mediation and a call for a truce from its ally, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Grains deal under threat
Regarding the threat agitated Friday by Mr. Lavrov to bury the agreement on the export of Ukrainian cereals, Moscow considers that the part of this text which should allow it to send its own agricultural production and fertilizers to foreign markets is not applied.
“If there is no progress in removing obstacles to Russian fertilizer and grain exports, then we will wonder whether this agreement is necessary,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Negotiations can only take place on the basis of taking into account Russian interests
In March, Russia announced that it was only extending its participation in the grain deal for 60 days, instead of the 120 foreseen by the pact.
The so-called Black Sea Agreement, signed last July for 120 days between the United Nations, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey, has resulted in alleviating the global food crisis caused by the Russian invasion.
Later in the day, the Russian minister was received by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace. No details leaked from the discussions.