MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement about ending the conflict in Ukraine through diplomacy and negotiation strange against the backdrop of the West’s constant speculations about the need to defeat Russia first. It's a strange statement, I've heard about it, Lavrov said in response to a TASS request for a comment. This is all being said almost simultaneously with statements by the very same Secretary of State, Blinken, the very same leaders of the US National Security Council and the very same European Union and NATO functionaries, who keep saying: Ukraine must first win and carry out a successful counteroffensive, and only then will we decide to negotiate, Lavrov explained. This is a schizophrenic situation: they say that everything will be ended by negotiations, but first we have to defeat Russia. He also drew attention to the basis on which the West wished to negotiate. The United States, together with NATO members and with the European Union, has stated firmly, repeatedly and uncompromisingly that the sole basis for negotiations is the notorious [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky peace formula, which consists of ten points, Lavrov pointed out. There are some neutral things there. Trivial, I should say. It is unclear why they were included there, he noted, naming food and energy security among such things. These are the very same things that have been undermined by the West’s sanctions. But the main thing about the prospects for a peace treaty is that first Russia is to withdraw beyond the 1991 borders, the Russian leadership is to be put on trial, and Russia must pay reparations. Only after these preconditions have been met, will peace be made. This is what the West has in mind when it speaks of the need for negotiations and a peace settlement, Lavrov explained. He remarked that this split personality disorder does not help to correctly navigate the situation. Real aims The way I see it, they are trying to temporarily freeze this conflict, to achieve some kind of cease fire and buy time to beef up Ukraine’s military muscle again, to create a new military infrastructure, and to supply it with new lethal long range weapons, Lavrov pointed out, adding that this scenario is being advanced by US political scientists. He cited a recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine that promotes exactly this type of scenario. Make peace, take a breather. Yes, Russia will also get a break, but the entire West is behind Ukraine, so we (the Western countries TASS) will make it much stronger and then [will] continue to press ahead for the same aims mentioned in Zelensky's plan. Demagogy has never hindered diplomacy in achieving certain aims, but that's what diplomats are for: to distinguish some contrived moves from reality, Lavrov concluded.

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MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's statement about ending the conflict in Ukraine through diplomacy and negotiation strange against the backdrop of the West’s constant speculations about the need to defeat Russia first. It's a strange statement, I've heard about it, Lavrov said in response to a TASS request for a comment. This is all being said almost simultaneously with statements by the very same Secretary of State, Blinken, the very same leaders of the US National Security Council and the very same European Union and NATO functionaries, who keep saying: Ukraine must first win and carry out a successful counteroffensive, and only then will we decide to negotiate, Lavrov explained. This is a schizophrenic situation: they say that everything will be ended by negotiations, but first we have to defeat Russia. He also drew attention to the basis on which the West wished to negotiate. The United States, together with NATO members and with the European Union, has stated firmly, repeatedly and uncompromisingly that the sole basis for negotiations is the notorious [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky peace formula, which consists of ten points, Lavrov pointed out. There are some neutral things there. Trivial, I should say. It is unclear why they were included there, he noted, naming food and energy security among such things. These are the very same things that have been undermined by the West’s sanctions. But the main thing about the prospects for a peace treaty is that first Russia is to withdraw beyond the 1991 borders, the Russian leadership is to be put on trial, and Russia must pay reparations. Only after these preconditions have been met, will peace be made. This is what the West has in mind when it speaks of the need for negotiations and a peace settlement, Lavrov explained. He remarked that this split personality disorder does not help to correctly navigate the situation. Real aims The way I see it, they are trying to temporarily freeze this conflict, to achieve some kind of cease fire and buy time to beef up Ukraine’s military muscle again, to create a new military infrastructure, and to supply it with new lethal long range weapons, Lavrov pointed out, adding that this scenario is being advanced by US political scientists. He cited a recent article in Foreign Affairs magazine that promotes exactly this type of scenario. Make peace, take a breather. Yes, Russia will also get a break, but the entire West is behind Ukraine, so we (the Western countries TASS) will make it much stronger and then [will] continue to press ahead for the same aims mentioned in Zelensky's plan. Demagogy has never hindered diplomacy in achieving certain aims, but that's what diplomats are for: to distinguish some contrived moves from reality, Lavrov concluded.