Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Stalled Amid Mutual Accusations, Foreign Minister Lavrov: We Were Given No Other Choice

Menlu Russia Sergei Lavrov. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Press Service of the President of the Russian Federation)

JAKARTA - Peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine have stagnated, with both sides blaming each other and Moscow indicating a return to talks may be difficult.

Russia accuses Ukraine of hardening its stance and the West of supporting the government in Kyiv, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying Washington, London and Brussels want to use Ukraine to their strategic advantage.

Foreign Minister Lavrov said he believed no quick deal could be made if negotiators tried to transfer dialogue, to focus on what the West had to say rather than the immediate situation in Ukraine. That ruled out any chance for progress in the talks, he added.

"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations ... but we were not given any other choice," Foreign Minister Lavrov said.

You know, Ukraine and Russia have been holding intermittent peace talks since late February 2022, just days after Moscow invaded its neighbor, but there has been little communication between them in recent weeks.

Also on Tuesday, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said Ukraine had "practically withdrawn from the negotiation process," while Russian negotiator Leonid Slutsky, said talks were not held in any format.

"The (US) State Department should not try to create "conditions" through military aid to Kyiv. It is useless," Slutsky criticized.

The United States is expected to agree to a $40 billion military and economic aid package for Ukraine this week, with overall Western arms and aid supplies increasing significantly in recent weeks.

Separately, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Mykhailo Podolyak confirmed peace talks were 'postponed', as Russia did not want to accept it would not achieve any goal, that war would no longer proceed according to Kremlin rules.

"Russia does not show a key understanding of today's processes in the world. And its role is very negative," according to Ukrainian media.

“We are not just 10 years, but 20 years since the West started preparing tools, including the use of NATO and Ukraine to contain Russia since the late 90s. For years we insisted on negotiations, we have been ignored," said Lavrov.

"Now we will solve the problem depending on how we see it. I will always emphasize: we are ready to solve the humanitarian problem," he stressed.

President Vladimir Putin said Russian troops were carrying out special military operations to demilitarize and 'denazify' Ukraine. Meanwhile, the West and Kyiv called it a false pretext to attack.

Thousands have died and millions have been displaced by the war. It has also put Russia in the grip of harsh Western sanctions, and has raised fears of a wider confrontation between Russia and NATO.