Lavrov blames West for lack of talks with Ukraine, defends navy drills

[ad_1]

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) Russia was willing to negotiate with Ukraine in the early months of the war, but the United States and other Western nations advised Kyiv against holding talks, the head of Moscow diplomacy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s remarks during a visit to South Africa were similar to those made last year by President Vladimir Putin. The United States and other Western countries have said Russia is not serious about reaching a deal to end the nearly year-long war, which began on February 24.

It is well known that we supported the proposal of the Ukrainian side to negotiate at the beginning of the special military operation and at the end of March the two delegations agreed on the principle of settling this conflict, Lavrov said .

It is well known and has been openly published that our American, British and some European colleagues told Ukraine that it was too early to deal, and the arrangement that had almost been agreed upon was never seen again by the Kyiv regime.

Russia has repeatedly rejected Ukrainian and Western demands to withdraw completely from Ukraine as a condition of any negotiations. US President Joe Biden has indicated that he would be ready to speak with Putin if the Russian leader demonstrated that he was serious about ending the invasion.

Lavrov is in Pretoria for talks with his South African counterpart Naledi Pandor as Russia seeks to strengthen ties with Africa’s most developed country and a historic ally amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

South Africa was seen as the most important of several African nations to take a neutral stance on the war and refuse to condemn Russia’s invasion to the disappointment of the United States and other Western partners who also consider South Africa as central to their plans to build relationships in Africa.

Lavrov met Pandor in the South African capital and is expected to visit other African countries on his trip. This is the second visit by Russian ministers to Africa in the space of six months as Moscow seeks to rally support.

Russia’s war in Ukraine and its impact on 1.3 billion people in Africa, including rising oil and food prices, were to take center stage during Lavrov’s talks with Pandor.

We are fully aware that conflicts, wherever they exist in the world, have a negative impact on all of us, and as a developing world, they have an impact on us, especially on the African continent, said Pandor before the talks. That is why, as South Africa, we constantly affirm that we will always be ready to support the peaceful resolution of conflicts on the continent and around the world.

Lavrov repeated a claim he had made earlier that the West was responsible for soaring global food prices.

South Africa continues to maintain strong ties with Russia following the Soviet Union’s support for the country’s current ruling party, the African National Congress, when it was a liberation movement fighting for end the apartheid system of repression against the black majority in South Africa.

This relationship is largely what led South Africa to abstain in a UN vote last year condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine, although a small group of people have protested against Russia and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine outside the building where Lavrov and Pandor met.

Although South Africa has expressed neutrality towards Ukraine, Lavrov’s visit comes days after the South African armed forces announced they would hold joint exercises with the Russian and Chinese navies. off the east coast of South Africa next month, bringing Russian and Chinese warships across the Indian Ocean.

On Monday, Lavrov insisted that the naval exercises would be transparent and respect international law.

Three sovereign countries will hold drills without violating international law, and I don’t understand with whom this can cause a mixed reaction, Lavrov was quoted by Russian news agency Tass as saying.

Lavrov visited Ethiopia, Egypt, Uganda and the Republic of Congo during his African tour last year. This was closely followed by a visit to South Africa by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, a move seen as an attempt by Washington to counter the expansion of Russian influence in a strategically important continent.

This time, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will begin an official visit to South Africa on Wednesday after stops in Senegal and Zambia.

___

Follow AP coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

[ad_2]