Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said reaching a peace agreement with Ukraine "will certainly be impossible," seemingly contradicting recent messages from the Kremlin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin himself indicated a peace deal was still possible when he was interviewed by Tucker Carlson in a talk that aired on February 8. Days later, Carlson went further by telling a summit in Dubai that he believes Putin would be willing to compromise in order to end the war.
When contacted for comment about Carlson's remarks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Newsweek that Putin has "more than once said that he is ready for negotiations."
However, Lavrov offered a different stance on negotiations with Ukraine while speaking with Russian lawmakers on Wednesday.
"Considering that those who declared a war on us offer no serious proposals and are unwilling to respect our interests and the reality on the ground, getting an agreement at the negotiating table will certainly be impossible. No such scenario is foreseen," the diplomat said, according to the Russian state media outlet RT.
Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email on Wednesday for comment.
Lavrov's remarks contained a common theme promoted by Russian officials, which is the unsubstantiated claim that Western nations instigated the conflict in Ukraine. This narrative also frequently asserts the West wishes to escalate its "hybrid war."
RT reported Lavrov told the lawmakers that the West wants war between Russia and Ukraine as part of a quest for "global domination and exceptionalism." He also reportedly said Moscow and its allies are trying to end what he characterized as a colonialist system in place in Ukraine.
Lavrov suggested he believes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would follow the wishes of the United States and other Western allies in any potential negotiations that may come in the future. Putin seemed to think differently, according to comments he made to Carlson last week.
When Carlson asked Putin if he believes Zelensky still "has the freedom to negotiate a settlement to this conflict," the Russian leader answered that he believes so.
On Monday, Carlson told Egyptian journalist Emad El Din Adeeb during a discussion at Dubai's World Government Summit that he thinks Putin is ready for the war to end.
When Adeeb asked the American journalist if he feels Putin is willing to compromise to end the war, Carlson answered: "Of course. Leaders of any country on this planet, other than maybe the United States during the unipolar period, are forced by the nature of their jobs to compromise. That's what diplomacy is. And he [Putin] is among those [leaders willing to compromise]."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
