Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov Says Progress Continues in Russia-US Relations Normalization

Moscow, December 30. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that while there has been progress in the work towards normalizing Russia-US relations, the process has not been easy. He expressed this view in an interview with the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency.

Lavrov said, “During the telephone conversation on February 12, the Russian and American presidents agreed on the need to quickly end the ‘toxic legacy’ of the Joe Biden administration. Work on this began thereafter.”

He mentioned that bilateral contacts have been regular since then, and both sides understand the necessity of regularly comparing their positions on international issues, including Ukraine.

However, Lavrov described the normalization process as challenging, stating, “Although some agreements have been reached regarding restoring the full functionality of our embassies, the American side continues to insist on linking these issues to other political topics.”

Regarding Ukraine, Lavrov outlined key points:

· Russia desires a political and diplomatic solution to the Ukraine crisis.
· The Russian military maintains the strategic initiative.
· Since Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidential authority expired in May 2024, new elections must be held according to the law.
· The Ukrainian people must be given the opportunity to determine their own future, but this should not be used as a pretext for the rearmament of the Ukrainian military.

Lavrov emphasized the need for Ukraine’s neutral, non-aligned, and nuclear-free status; its demilitarization and denazification; and halting the military development of Ukrainian territory by NATO countries.

Furthermore, he called on Kyiv and its Western sponsors to recognize the new territorial realities, namely the accession of Crimea, Sevastopol, the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions to the Russian Federation.