Lavrov: We want Ukraine to be a neutral, demilitarized state that does not represent a threat

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that his country wants Ukraine to be a neutral, demilitarized state free of Nazism and does not represent a threat to Russia’s security, pointing out that Moscow supports all kinds of contacts with the Ukrainian side with the aim of achieving a settlement.

During a press conference after his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya today, in the presence of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Lavrov stated that the issue of humanitarian corridors was discussed in addition to other issues, and he said, “We stressed that the initiative presented by the Russian side earlier to open humanitarian corridors remains in the process of being implemented, and we discussed the measures taken by the military to facilitate the passage of civilians who have become hostages used by Ukrainian extremists as human shields.”.

The Russian Minister explained that the West has worked for years to create a dangerous environment in the region and that the West wants Ukraine to confront Russia, indicating that his country does not want the presence of a Nazi state near the Russian borders, and that all what Moscow wants is a Ukraine acting as a neutral, demilitarized friend, free of Nazism, without any threat to Russia.

The Russian top diplomat pointed out that the West’s provision of lethal weapons to the Kyiv authorities is a dangerous matter that poses a threat to several countries, and that whoever supplies Ukraine with weapons and transports mercenaries to it must bear responsibility for what he is doing, warning that these weapons, including shoulder-fired missile systems, can be transferred anywhere and can used by terrorists to create threats to civil aviation.

Lavrov indicated that the facts on the ground confirm that the Pentagon established secret biological laboratories on Ukrainian soil in violation of the Treaty on the Prevention of the Use and Development of Biological and Chemical Weapons, pointing out that this is a matter of concern and that the United States’ denial of this issue is not surprising.

Lavrov reiterated that Russia never talks about the possibility of a third world war and that the one who talks about a nuclear war is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization “NATO”.

On Ukraine’s allegations that Russian forces bombed a hospital in Mariupol, Lavrov said: “The maternity home in Mariupol is empty of patients and staff, and the building has been turned into a base for extremists a long time ago.”

With regard to the Western sanctions imposed on Russia, the Russian Foreign Minister stressed that the United States will never be able to destroy Russia’s economy, stressing that his country has not and will not use gas and oil as means of economic war, and that if European countries stop buying Russian oil and gas, they are free and the global market is wide and Moscow has markets for its energy exports.

On the possibility of holding a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Vladimir Zelensky, Lavrov said, “Everyone knows that President Putin never refuses to communicate, but we want the meeting to be substantive and discuss specific issues.”