Russian Foreign Minister: Zelensky is a ‘good actor’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (right) during a meeting with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan of Armenia in Moscow on April 8 – Photo: REUTERS

Russian news agencies quoted the Russian diplomat’s remarks on April 25, referring to many issues related to the war in Ukraine, especially the situation of negotiations, which have been stalled for several weeks.

“Good intentions also have their limits. If there is no reciprocity, it does not contribute to the negotiation process,” Mr. Lavrov emphasized.

But he affirmed that Moscow will continue to negotiate to find peace with Ukraine even though the Kiev government is currently only “pretending to negotiate”.

“We are still continuing to negotiate with Zelensky’s representative team and contacts will continue,” Lavrov said.

But the veteran Russian diplomat also spoke candidly about the Ukrainian president’s attitude in negotiations with comments regarding Mr. Zelensky’s professional past as an actor.

“If you look closely and listen closely to what he (Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky) says, you will see a thousand contradictions,” Lavrov pointed out.

However, the Russian diplomatic leader said he was confident about the possibility that “then an agreement will be signed”. “But the terms of the agreement will depend on the situation on the battlefield when the agreement is actually signed by both sides,” Lavrov commented.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during talks with two US ministers in Kiev on April 24 – Photo: REUTERS

On April 22, Lavrov said that negotiations between Moscow and Kiev regarding the current conflict had stalled.

After meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi, Lavrov said that Russia had not yet received a response from the Ukrainian side about the new proposal made by Moscow on April 17.

Foreign Minister Lavrov also denied that Moscow was negotiating with the parties about security guarantees for Ukraine. Responding to a question about which countries Moscow considers the security sponsor of Ukraine, he stressed: “We are not currently negotiating with any party on this issue.” However, the Russian diplomat also added that Moscow has no objection to the countries proposed by Ukraine to guarantee Kiev’s security.

Foreign Minister Lavrov also confirmed that Russia will not accept ultimatums from Ukraine, when commenting on President Volodymyr Zelensky’s announcement about the possibility of canceling negotiations with Moscow.