UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2022) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday that he is ready to sit down for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov if Russia is willing to change its course on Ukraine and chose diplomacy over war.
"If he is ready to convince President Putin to stop this madness, we are ready to sit down. I'm open," Kuleba told reporters at the United Nations. "If he just reinforces the narratives of President Putin and chooses war to diplomacy, that's his choice. And he will pay for that."
Kuleba said since his appointment as Ukraine's Foreign Minster in 2020, he had attempted on numerous occasions to arrange a meeting with Lavrov.
"I reached out to speak bilaterally on the phone to him, but he never picks up the phone. He never agreed to meet in the Normandy format. He is talented enough to find all kinds of excuses why he shouldn't show up. So I don't care about him," Kuleba said.
Ukraine, the United States and its allies have accused Russia of deploying additional troops along the Ukrainian border in an alleged preparation for invasion. Russia has repeatedly dismissed these allegations, saying it has no intention of invading Ukraine, while stressing that it has the right to move its troops within its sovereign territory.
Russia has also expressed concerns over NATO military activity near its borders and ongoing military support of Ukraine, including an increase in the number of military advisers in the breakaway Donbas region and increased arms deliveries to Kiev. Russia has said NATO's plans to expand further eastward pose a direct threat to its national security.
The situation in the Donbas region has escalated in recent days, with the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics (DPR and LPR) ordering general mobilization in anticipation of an offensive by the Ukrainian military. In addition, the local authorities evacuated some 96,000 residents to Russia.
On Monday, Putin signed decrees recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR as well as agreements on cooperation and assistance with them. The Russian parliament ratified the documents on Tuesday and allowed for the deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces there.
