MOSCOW. July 13 (Interfax) - The issue of western border security guarantees for Russia has to be solved, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
"Since the conflict rooted in the 2014 coup in Ukraine has geopolitical dimension, it would be necessary to solve the issue of security guarantees for the western borders of Russia," Lavrov said in an interview with the online newspaper Lenta.ru.
That was the purpose of the initiative put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2021 and "arrogantly rejected" by the West, he said.
Russia's position on the possible resolution of the Ukraine situation "has not changed drastically" since spring 2022 "when an understanding on the need for reinstatement of a neutral, non-aligned status of Ukraine, its decision not to enter into NATO, and confirmation of its non-nuclear status was reached," Lavrov said.
"We stay open to dialogue, yet we will be guided by our lawful interests and will commensurate our approach to a possible settlement with the situation on the ground," he said.
Yet Russia has not received messages from BRICS partners, which took part in a meeting on Ukraine in Copenhagen, regarding the possibility of peace talks in July, Lavrov said.
"There are all grounds to believe that this information is inaccurate, given persistent aspiration of Kiev and its Western curators to continue the escalation of hostilities. We have stressed on multiple occasions that Russia has never rejected dialogue as a political way of the achievement of goals of the special military operation," he said.
Russia is grateful to all partners trying to find ways of a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine crisis, Lavrov said.
"We do not think their initiatives are premature: Russia has always prioritized peace over conflict," he said.
Moscow has closely studied every peace initiative and has held related consultations with representatives of African states, China and Brazil, Lavrov said.
"We share many proposals of our partners. For instance, such as compliance with international law and the UN Charter, renouncement of the Cold War mentality, resolution of the humanitarian crisis, provision of safety and security of nuclear power plants, termination of unilateral sanctions, and renouncement of the use of the global economy to political ends," he said.
At the same time, Ukraine and the West "are absolutely unwilling to accept any form of de-escalation," Lavrov said.