Russia agrees with G20 declaration on resolving the conflict in Ukraine

Russia agrees with the paragraph on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine in the final declaration of the G20, which calls for an honest and reasonable conversation about peace on realistic terms. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on November 19.

"There is a paragraph on Ukraine, which we agreed with, because the main thing in it is a call for an honest and reasonable conversation about peace on realistic grounds," Lavrov said during a press conference on the results of the G20 summit (G20).

In addition, the Russian Foreign Minister noted the fundamental importance of resolving conflicts on the fair basis of the UN international charter. According to him, if this is projected onto the Ukrainian situation, the West sees only the principle of territorial integrity. Lavrov noted that the Western side wants to return to Ukraine the territories where Russian people lived for centuries and whose rights were destroyed by the Nazi regime of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20.

The Russian foreign minister pointed out that the rights of Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine, which are spelled out in another part of the UN charter and indicate their respect regardless of race, gender, language and religion, have been eradicated at the legislative level. Lavrov said the West still claims Zelensky is defending European values despite this.

"Trump effect" and the expectation of negotiations on Ukraine. What the media write

The G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro is taking place from November 18 to 19, with Russia represented by Lavrov. In the already adopted final declaration, the participants of the meeting welcomed all constructive initiatives to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Bloomberg reported that French leader Macron independently sought out Lavrov at the summit and shook his hand.

Meanwhile, former Pennsylvania Senator Bruce Marks said that still acting White House chief Biden wants to make it harder for President-elect Donald Trump to negotiate with Russian leader Vladimir Putin by authorizing Ukraine to strike with long-range weapons deep inside the Russian state. However, Marx also pointed out that Russia cannot be pushed into negotiations through threats.

The day before, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a press conference on the margins of the summit about the importance of negotiations with Putin to resolve the conflict. In turn, the Bloomberg agency reported that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intended to voice at the meeting an initiative to freeze the Ukrainian conflict along the front line.

Before that, on November 13, The Washington Post quoted European officials as saying that the EU was preparing for talks between Russia and Ukraine. According to this information, the talks may include discussions on territorial concessions in exchange for security guarantees for Kiev.

Back in June, Vladimir Putin named the conditions for negotiations on Ukraine. The Russian president said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces should be completely withdrawn from the territories of the DNR, LNR, Kherson and Zaporizhzhya regions, and Kiev should give up the idea of joining NATO.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.