Russia's war against Ukraine will continue and may possibly escalate. This was stated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, after the President of Finland Alexander Stubb and the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov said that the two European leaders did not announce anything new during the conversation with Putin. According to him, this only showed the desire of European countries to join the negotiation process.
„This only shows the desire of Europeans to interfere in the negotiation process. But what positions they want to take part in it is the big question“, Lavrov said.Moscow does not back down from its claims to Donbas
Earlier, Reuters reported that during the conversation, Putin told Stubb and Støre that Russia did not intend to give up its attempt to seize all of Donbas. The information was provided by a source close to the Kremlin. According to the same source, the Finnish and Norwegian leaders replied that the end of the war should be linked to a just peace.
The conversation between Putin, Stubb and Støre took place on October 27. It was dedicated to the war in Ukraine and diplomatic efforts to end it. Until now, the last European leader to speak by phone with the Russian president was French President Emmanuel Macron. Their conversation took place in July, but did not lead to any results.
Lavrov also commented on the diesel deal with the US
The Russian Foreign Minister described the diesel deal between Russia and the US as a “purely business agreement“. According to him, this is a pragmatic approach related to the economies of both countries and the global economy.
Lavrov also accused the West of trying to influence public opinion through disinformation. He quoted German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stating that the main goal of Western countries was “to defeat Russia“, and defined such a position as political masochism.
Sources: unian.net, reuters.com