Kyiv warned on Friday that talks to end Russia’s third-month invasion were in danger of collapsing. “At the moment, the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are actually discussing on a daily basis by teleconference a draft of a possible treaty,” Lavrov told the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, which was posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted since the start of the invasion on February 24 that Western sanctions on Russia should be strengthened and could not be part of the negotiations. Ukraine and Russia have not held face-to-face peace talks since March 29, and the atmosphere has deteriorated amid Ukrainian allegations that Russian troops committed atrocities as they withdrew from areas near Kyiv. Moscow has denied the allegations. Moscow calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation” to demilitarize and “demilitarize” its neighbor. Ukraine and the West say Russia has launched an unprovoked offensive war. “The agenda of the talks also includes, among other things, the issues of de-depopulation, the recognition of new geopolitical realities, the lifting of sanctions, the status of the Russian language,” Lavrov said, without elaborating. “We are in favor of continuing the negotiations, although they are difficult,” Lavrov said. Ukraine’s western allies have imposed sweeping sanctions on Moscow. About half of Russia’s state-owned gold and foreign exchange reserves have been frozen, hurting the Russian economy and putting it on the brink of bankruptcy. Our Morning and Afternoon newsletters are compiled by Globe editors, giving you a brief overview of the day’s most important headlines. Register today.
