MOSCOW, Dec 11 (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that all “misunderstandings” with the United States over Ukraine had been resolved following a meeting earlier this month between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
The Kremlin praised the Dec 2 meeting with Witkoff and Jared Kushner as “constructive”, although no major breakthroughs were reached to solve the Ukraine war.
Lavrov on Thursday said the talks had confirmed “mutual understandings” reached between Putin and U.S. Donald Trump at a summit in Alaska in August.
“Now, here, in our negotiations with the Americans on the Ukraine issue, I personally believe that the misunderstandings and miscommunications have been resolved,” he said.
Lavrov added that Russia wants a package of documents agreed to underpin a long-term and sustainable peace deal in Ukraine with security guarantees for all parties involved.
“We have conveyed to our American colleagues additional proposals concerning collective security guarantees,” Lavrov said. “We understand that when discussing security guarantees, we cannot limit ourselves to Ukraine alone.”
He also said that Russia would not accept Ukraine getting NATO membership and that Moscow wanted protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine.
(Reporting by Dmitry AntonovWriting by Maxim Rodionov and Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn/Guy Faulconbridge)
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