Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not want to conclude a peace agreement because it would end his career, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told RIA Novosti, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Zelensky says he wants a deal, but is not inclined to accept Russia's conditions, which he says are tantamount to capitulation and giving Moscow territories that the Russian army has not conquered on the battlefield, Reuters points out.
"Any peace (in Ukraine) would mean the end of his political career, and possibly not only his political one," Lavrov said in an interview with RT television, adding: "After his conversation with (NATO Secretary General) Mark Rutte, Zelensky said that he was ready for compromises, but Russia must also be ready for compromises. I think he was frank. However, in my opinion, the word "conscience" and Zelensky are two incompatible things. He thinks about nothing but his own survival".
"I don't know what will be offered to our delegation in Abu Dhabi. We discussed with them yesterday those security guarantees that Mark Rutte spoke about yesterday in the Ukrainian Rada in Kiev. If this is what the Ukrainians came to Abu Dhabi with, then this is another confirmation that Zelensky does not want peace," the Russian Foreign Minister said, quoted by TASS.
Talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine continue, but the Europeans are trying to distort Washington's proposals, Lavrov also said.
"The dialogue continues. We supported the US proposals, and the Europeans immediately rushed to Washington to modify, to amend the American initiative, which was approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin. And they are still trying to distort this initiative," the Russian top diplomat said in his interview.
Russia will accept international security guarantees only for Ukraine, which is friendly to Moscow, Lavrov also told journalists in Moscow, DPA reported, citing the Russian news agency "Interfax".
The Russian government does not have information about what security guarantees the United States and Ukraine have agreed on, Lavrov said.
But "if the goal is to preserve the regime in part of the territory of the former Ukraine and to continue using this regime as a springboard for making threats against Russia, then [...] such guarantees are unlikely to ensure a reliable peace," he stressed.
Moscow, Lavrov concluded, is open to concluding collective security agreements in the region that respect Russia's security.