Lavrov said he agreed to provide security guarantees to Kiev on an equal basis.

Russia agrees that Ukraine's security guarantees should be provided on an equal basis with the participation of China, the United States, Great Britain, France and other countries. This was announced on August 20 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

"As for reports that Britain, France, and Germany want to create and work out collective security guarantees, we are in favor of making these guarantees truly reliable," he said during a joint press conference with Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.

Lavrov added that in the issue of guarantees of Ukraine's security, it is necessary to focus on the developments achieved during the negotiations in Istanbul in 2022. According to the Russian Foreign Minister, Kiev then proposed the basic principles of an agreement on ending hostilities and ensuring a sustainable settlement. Among them were Ukraine's refusal to join NATO or other military blocs, and confirmation of its neutral and nuclear-weapon-free status. The United States, Russia, China, France, Great Britain and other countries were supposed to act as guarantors of security.

"The Russian side supported that approach <...>. And we were ready [to conclude an agreement]. <..."[However] Boris Johnson, the then British prime minister, came and forbade his charges in Kiev to sign anything, demanded that the fighting continue," Lavrov stressed.

The Russian Foreign Minister noted that collective security issues cannot be resolved without Russia, and the United States understands this well.

The fourth is superfluous: the EU is trying to interfere in the Ukrainian settlement

How can this affect the process of negotiations between Moscow, Washington and Kiev

Earlier, on August 19, Bloomberg learned about the readiness of about 10 countries to send troops to Ukraine as part of providing possible security guarantees for Kiev. This was clarified during the summit of European officials held on the same day. According to the agency, the meeting of the leaders of the European Union (EU) with US President Donald Trump at the White House, which confirmed Washington's commitment to security guarantees, was a prerequisite for the relevant plans.

On the same day, White House press Secretary Caroline Leavitt announced that the United States would discuss with Russia acceptable security guarantees for Ukraine. She noted that the United States does not intend to deploy its troops in Ukraine as part of providing it with security guarantees. Leavitt also added that the United States does not rule out air support as a guarantee of security.

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