Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Saudi Arabia: The West wants Russia defeated at all costs

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov paid a visit to Saudi capital Riyadh, where he took part in a meeting of the Strategic Dialogue of the Russian Federation — the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. The foreign ministers of the Persian Gulf countries discussed the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine with their Russian counterpart. The parties also spoke about possible support for initiatives to ensure global peace and security.

According to Lavrov, the main issue about the conflict in Ukraine is about the rights of the people, rather than an exchange of territories.

"If we discuss calls for a ceasefire and think about territorial exchanges, this is not serious. Because, I say it again, the problem is not about the territories, the problem is about the rights of the people who have been trampled by law," Sergei Lavrov said.

Lavrov commented on the statements from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz about the need for peace talks on Ukraine. All peace initiatives do not take into account the rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine, Sergei Lavrov said.

"None of those initiatives, including those that our good colleagues and partners propose with best intentions in mind (…) touches on the problems of the rights of the people who speak Russian," Lavrov said.

Russia welcomes China's position on the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine related to aspects of global security.

Russia will sit down at the negotiating table on Ukraine only when Moscow has a clear idea of what these talks are going to be about, Sergei Lavrov said.

"This is not about where to gather and in what circle or composition. For Russia, it is most important what is going to be discussed at this meeting (…) When we see that the West is indeed ready to defend not only Ukrainian rights, I am convinced that we will easily be able to agree on a venue for the meeting," Sergei Lavrov said.

He noted that those who in one way or another show interest in helping to resolve the Ukrainian crisis should "consider the position" of Moscow and make Russia "a direct part of their work on developing solutions to resolve the conflict."

Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said that Russia was in contact with India regarding various initiatives to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. According to the diplomat, Moscow does not consider Ukraine's peace plan a possible basis for any peace talks.

"Zelensky's initiative has long been known, it has become a pain in the neck for everyone, it is a pure ultimatum. The fact that the West is clinging to this ultimatum means only one thing: the West does not want to negotiate honestly," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Western countries plan to do everything to bring Russia closer to a situation in which it will be possible to declare that Russia has suffered a strategic defeat on the battlefield, Lavrov concluded.

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Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as the foreign minister of Russia since 2004. He is the longest-serving foreign minister since the Tsarist era. Lavrov served as the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004.