Lavrov at G20 Brags No Changes in Russia’s Position, Meaning No End in War vs Ukraine 

The Kremlin again declared for all to hear that it doesn’t foresee an end to its war against Ukraine, which is turning out to be Europe’ longest war.

Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov told the participants of G20 in Atlanta that as far as Russia concerned there is no change in its position on ending its war against Ukraine.

"Our position is known, but what Ukraine intends to bring to the negotiating table, I don't know,” Lavrov declared.

Since the start of the war in February 2022, Russia has insisted that it is weeding out Nazis with its invasion of Ukraine. It has also protecting its security against an eastward expansion of NATO.

Actually, Russia is simply rebuilding its empire, beginning with Ukraine, and won’t end its war until Ukraine surrenders.

Russia’s long-standing demand is Ukraine's total geopolitical neutrality (ensuring Ukraine never joins NATO or hosts foreign military bases) along with strict caps on the size and capability of the Ukrainian military. 

Lavrov criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statements regarding strikes on targets inside Russia, calling them unhelpful when preparing for potential new negotiations. The Russian official overlooked mentioning its strike this week on a railroad platform that killed 15 commuters.

He emphasized that Moscow will not permit a situation where Ukraine poses a "military threat to legitimate security interests of the Russian Federation.” Russia’s false security concerns never mention that Ukraine has never invaded any of its near or distant neighbors.

Continuing in this vein, Lavrov claimed that Moscow cannot tolerate "outrageous discrimination of the Russian and Russian-speaking population there in Ukraine," pointing out laws restricting or prohibiting the public/official use of the Russian language. 

In reality, while Russian is allowed to flourish across Ukraine, even among the soldiers, the Ukrainian language is persecuted in Russia.

Lavrov further asserted that Russia cannot accept a situation where Ukraine "is promoting Nazi ideology and practice.” This falsehood promotes a point of view that has persisted in Russia since 2022 that Ukraine is a hotbed of nazism.

He also said Russia demands full international and legal recognition of its control over Crimea as well as the four annexed Ukrainian regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson), as well as complete removal of all Western economic sanctions imposed on Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s view now and since the invasion is then total disagreement with the invader’s demands.

Lavrov’s presence at the G20 was disruptive to say the least. He and his lies about Ukraine were immediately called out by European diplomats. The EU’s foreign policy chief accused Lavrov of presenting “lies” in G20 meetings in Atlanta about the Ukrainian conflict and suggested Moscow was not ready for peace negotiations. “We were talking about the big geopolitical crisis, including Ukraine, and we were able to address Sergei Lavrov head-on with this,” Kaja Kallas told Agence France-Presse on the sidelines of a meeting on Friday. “Of course, he put forward a lot of lies, a lot of false narratives that we were also able to then rebuke.” Kallas said Russia did not appear ready to move ahead in peace talks. “Even if they would have said this in words, their deeds tell something else,” she said. “July, August, and September have been the deadliest months for civilians in Ukraine.” She added: “They should show with their deeds that they are ready to negotiate, but they are clearly, clearly not.”

Moscow has been shunned by most of the West since it invaded Ukraine, and Lavrov himself remains under international sanctions. The UK foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, said: “We do not engage in that way with the Russians and have not for a number of years.” German foreign minister Johann Wadephul said there would be no photo because “there is no normality with Russia.”

And finally, as a diplomat coup de grace, the traditional family photo was cancelled. If only the Russian presence at all diplomatic arrangements were just as easily canceled.