MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The West is now pleading for a ceasefire in Ukraine without preconditions - something Vladimir Zelensky categorically rejected just a few years ago, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated.
"Recall how it all started. Russia is to be strategically defeated on the battlefield. They were practically shouting and going hysterical. Over time, their narrative shifted; they began loudly asserting that Russia must not be allowed to win in Ukraine. Now, they are begging and demanding an immediate ceasefire with no preconditions. This is exactly what Zelensky firmly refused a couple of years ago, when he still championed the goal of a strategic defeat for Russia on the battlefield," Lavrov explained at the 11th Primakov Readings, an international forum of scholars and experts.
He added, "The failure of Western strategy and tactics is clear, yet Europe continues to try."
Lavrov observed that, unlike the West, Russia has maintained consistent approaches to the Ukraine settlement. "President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed these principles in detail during the discussions at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum," he noted. "In contrast, Western leaders’ strategies are constantly shifting, which, in essence, highlights the failure of their original plans," he emphasized.
