Russia’s readiness for talks on Ukraine and EU’s attempts to derail them: Lavrov’s remarks

Russia’s readiness for talks on Ukraine and EU’s attempts to derail them: Lavrov’s remarks Russia is always ready for talks on Ukraine based on an understanding of the root causes of the crisis and aimed at reaching agreements to address them, the Russian foreign minister said © Alexander Shcherbak/TASSMOSCOW, September 8. /TASS/. Russia is always ready for talks on Ukraine so long as it is rooted in the causes of the crisis and aimed at reaching agreements to address them, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference after talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. According to the top Russian diplomat, the European Union continues to do all it can to prevent the situation around Ukraine from moving toward a long-term settlement by addressing those very root causes of the conflict. TASS has summed up the Russian foreign minister’s key statements. Ukrainian settlement Russia values Saudi Arabia’s efforts toward ensuring a lasting settlement of the Ukrainian crisis: "We are thankful to our Saudi friends for their principled, responsible, and well-balanced position on Ukraine, for their aspiration to make a contribution to the settlement of humanitarian problems that emerged amid this situation, and for their overall role in the common efforts toward ensuring a lasting political settlement on the basis of removing the well-known root causes of this crisis." Russia is always ready for talks on Ukraine based on an understanding of the root causes of the crisis and aimed at reaching agreements to address them: "If we focus on the main point, first and foremost, talks must be held - and we are always ready for them - based on an understanding of the root causes and on reaching agreements to address the root causes of the current Ukrainian crisis, which was created by the West, primarily by the previous US administration and by the European Union and NATO members, who are still trying, as they put it, to inflict a defeat on Russia and support Ukraine in everything." The US President Donald Trump administration seems as if it is open to entertaining the root causes of the Ukrainian conflict: "From the very beginning, the Trump administration has displayed both the wish and the ability to see the root causes of the conflict, and this is precisely what allows us to expect that conversations, negotiations, and contacts with the relevant envoys will be beneficial for both sides." The European Union continues to do everything to prevent the situation around Ukraine from moving toward a long-term settlement by addressing the root causes of the conflict: "It is the European Union that continues to do everything to prevent the situation from moving toward an examination of the root causes and an examination of paths toward a reliable, long-term settlement based on the elimination of these root causes." Intervision song contest The date of the next Intervision international song contest to be held in Saudi Arabia will be announced later due to the situation in the region: "Naturally, we have to take into account the situation in the region. That is why we have agreed to discuss the date at a later stage." Middle East Reasonable compromises are needed to implement the Islamabad memorandum between the United States and Iran, which is now not being followed: "Together with our Saudi colleagues, we call for looking for reasonable compromises to resolve all the differences in order to ensure the implementation of this agreement." Russia and Saudi Arabia insist that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict cannot be resolved by force methods: "Both Moscow and Riyadh are convinced that only a comprehensive, all-embracing settlement of the Palestinian issue - and there is a well-known basis of international law materialized in US resolutions for that - will guarantee durable peace for all nations in the region, including Israel, whose security must be guaranteed too, of course, as well as the security of all other countries of the region. But this should be done only through agreements rather than using military force." There is no progress toward settling the situation in the Gaza Strip, despite Trump’s peace plan: "Regrettably, despite the existing agreement that was presented as US President Donald Trump’s plan, there is no progress on this track either." Russia slams Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s infrastructure as counterproductive: "We believe that it is unacceptable to try to resolve these issues militarily, by military means that not only pose risks to the civilian population but also negatively impact the global economy, bearing in mind the Arabian Peninsula and its waterways’ importance for the routine operation of global trade routes." Relations with Saudi Arabia Russia and Saudi Arabia reaffirmed their commitment to continuing close coordination within OPEC+, which is particularly important in the current environment: "In the context of economic cooperation, we reaffirmed our commitment to continuing close coordination within OPEC+ to ensure a balance between supply and demand on the global energy market. This is particularly important under current conditions. Russia and Saudi Arabia, as co-chairs of this group of countries, will consistently pursue the approaches they have agreed upon." Tourist exchanges between Russia and Saudi Arabia are growing fast in both directions: "We have good opportunities in the travel sector. Saudi tourists visit Russia quite willingly. Last year, we welcomed 35% more of them compared to the previous year. The number of Russian tourists visiting Saudi Arabia is growing at a similar pace. This is facilitated by the visa-free travel agreement that came into force this May." Both countries demonstrate "mutual interest in expanding cultural and humanitarian ties." 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