Russia sets the conditions for a face-to-face meeting between Putin and Zelensky

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was present in Turkey on June 8 – Photo: REUTERS

“The negotiating teams must continue their work first,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by Tass news agency as saying on June 8, saying that the resumption of dialogue depends on the position of Kiev, which has not yet been taken up. reacted to the version of the draft agreement that Russia put forward in mid-April 2022. Mr. Lavrov is in Turkey to negotiate on grain exports from Ukraine.

Talking about Mr. Zelensky’s request to meet Putin, the Russian foreign minister said that the Ukrainian president was not serious. “Mr. Zelensky wants to meet Putin for the sake of the meeting. He changes his mind every day,” Lavrov said.

A day earlier, President Zelensky announced he was ready to speak directly with his Russian counterpart to end the conflict.

Commenting on the possibility of Russia-Ukraine negotiations, US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia Karen Donfried said that the possibility of negotiations in the near future is very low.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think negotiations are imminent,” Ms. Donfried said, adding that at the moment “there is no evidence that Russia wants to engage in good faith negotiations”.

An equally important negotiation is paving the way for Ukrainian grain exports to ports on the Black Sea. According to Reuters news agency, the talks taking place in Turkey are facing obstacles due to the conditions set by Russia. Russia said that the Ukrainian side needs to clear mines near seaports to ensure transportation.

On June 8, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov put the condition that Western countries must lift sanctions on Russia if they want the country to continue exporting grain.

The stagnation of exports of the world’s two major grain suppliers due to the war is contributing to the exacerbation of the global food crisis in recent times.

Russia sets out conditions for grain exports

TTO – According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Western countries must lift sanctions on Russia if they want the country to continue exporting grain. The Russian official also accused Ukraine of lying about the amount of grain stuck at ports.