Ukraine declares tough, Russia also does not give in

A high-level delegation led by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa visited Kiev and then the capital Moscow.

According to Mr Zelensky, Russia has "deceived" the world for years with the Minsk process and is trying to do it again. He argued that for peace to happen, Russian troops must leave all independent Ukrainian territory.

The Franco-German proposal that Ukraine agreed to in 2015 was supposed to bring peace in Donbass but former German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted last year that its real purpose was to buy time for NATO to arm Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed disappointment, saying that he had believed for many years that Berlin and Paris were honest, according to RT.

Ukrainian President and Comoros President Azali Assoumani speak during a press conference in Kiev on June 16. Photo: AP

According to RT, Mr. Zelensky also said that Ukraine is helping African countries a lot with food security and setting up grain centers on the continent with partners.

Meanwhile, speaking on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the West's proxy war with Russia as "a geopolitical conflict" in which the US is trying to eliminate a powerful opponent and protect its hegemonic position by all means.

Mr Lavrov declared the efforts futile, adding that Ukraine and its backers would be forced to accept “new concrete realities” before a ceasefire could be reached.

First, according to Mr Lavrov, Kiev must accept that any potential peace deal needs to take into account the loss of the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, which Russia unilaterally annexed last year.

Before launching its military operation in Ukraine, Moscow had offered more expansive terms and Mr Lavrov warned on June 16 that the longer Ukraine delayed negotiations, the harder it would be to reach an agreement with Russia.

Finally, Mr Lavrov declared that the era in which the US and its allies controlled the institutions of globalization – primarily development banks and multilateral organizations – would end.

Lavrov added that Russia would “keep all doors open” for partnership with European countries that realize that their interests are better served by cooperating with Russia than by playing Washington’s “ideological and geopolitical game.”

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/ukraine-tuyen-bo-cung-nga-cung-khong-nhan-nhuong-20230617092053676.htm