Lavrov says prospects for Russia-US summit depend on Washington

ISTANBUL

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday that the prospects for holding a Russia-US summit would depend on Washington.

"President (Donald) Trump suggested to President (Vladimir) Putin to meet in Budapest. President Putin said, yes, let's go into the preparatory work," he said in an interview with the Hungarian YouTube channel Ultrahang.

Lavrov said Moscow remains open to a possible Russia-US summit, stressing that the initiative lies with Washington.

"We are polite people. And when we are invited, we say, yes, let's agree how and where and when. And then this invitation is canceled, as President Trump said yesterday in the White House. Later they said that ‘cancel’ means ‘postpone.’ It's up to those who initiated the process," he added.

Noting that earlier he had a good conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he said: "The initiative was on the part of the United States. As I said, I heard that the State Department issued a communique saying that it was a good and productive phone conversation between Rubio and Lavrov. And it was so good that for the time being, we don't need any meetings."

“After we talked with Marco Rubio regarding following up on the results of (the August summit between Trump and Putin in) Alaska, he did not mention any new meetings or conversations. And I did not raise the issue, because the entire initiative was coming from the United States. And we would be ready to move as the Americans feel comfortable for themselves,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov said the future of territories in Ukraine is being discussed in various formats, noting that Putin had addressed the matter with Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and other interested leaders.

“We need a buffer zone. Because Ukrainians continue shelling, bombing, droning Russian territory, including the territories which never were challenged by anybody. I mean, Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk,” he said.

He reiterated that Russia’s goals in Ukraine have not changed, saying Kyiv must remain neutral, refrain from joining NATO, avoid possessing nuclear weapons and guarantee the rights of Russian speakers.

“Now the Europeans are trying to dominate the agenda with the rhetoric about ceasefire,” Lavrov said, accusing Ukraine and European countries of opposing Russia-US engagement and saying that they favor an unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine and are pressuring Washington on the issue.

He also argued that Finland’s accession to NATO was a “mistake,” saying Moscow considers such steps to worsen regional stability.