Russian leader Vladimir Putin is ready to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but “all issues” must be resolved first, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on 21 August, once again recalling the Kremlin’s thesis about the “legitimacy issue” of the Ukrainian government.
“Our president has repeatedly said that he is ready to meet, including with Mr Zelensky, on the understanding that all issues that require consideration at the highest level will be well worked out … and, of course, on the understanding that when and if – I hope, when – it comes to signing future agreements, the question of the legitimacy of the person who signs these agreements on the Ukrainian side will be resolved,” Lavrov said on 21 August.
Commenting on the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine, Lavrov said that Russia supports only the principles of those guarantees, which were discussed during the talks in Istanbul in 2022. All other proposals, he said, are “futile designs.”
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The presence of foreign troops in Ukraine is unacceptable for Russia, the Russian foreign minister said.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War previously noted that Putin and other Kremlin officials regularly repeat their “long-standing and false” claim that the allegedly illegitimate Ukrainian government is illegitimate in order to set the stage for manipulating ceasefire talks and for abandoning any future Russian-Ukrainian agreements at a time of Russia’s choosing.
ISW stressed that any long-term peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine must contain clear Russian recognition of the legitimacy of Ukraine’s president, government, and constitution, as well as Ukraine’s sovereignty.
Commenting on Lavrov’s previous statements on 20 August, analysts said that the Kremlin appears to be demanding that any security guarantees be based on those proposed by the 2022 Istanbul Protocol, which would give Russia and its allies a veto over Western military aid to Ukraine and leave Ukraine “helpless to future Russian threats.”
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Lavrov said on 20 August that Russia was in favour of collective security guarantees that were “really reliable” and that a good example of such guarantees was Russia’s 2022 Istanbul proposals, which would have permanently banned Ukraine from joining NATO, imposed restrictions on the Ukrainian army, and prohibited Ukraine from receiving Western military aid without any limits on the size or capabilities of the Russian armed forces.
The security guarantees proposed in the draft 2022 Istanbul Protocol treated Russia as a neutral guarantor state for Ukraine’s security along with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, without defining Russia as a party to the war. Such security guarantees would give China and Russia veto power over any actions the guarantors might take in response to a renewed Russian attack, giving the UN Security Council the authority to take measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security,” the report said.