The majority of impartial experts see that the West's continued support of Kiev impedes peace, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the UN Security Council in New York on Monday.
"Today, it is completely obvious to the overwhelming majority of non-biased experts that the key factor that impedes the search for paths to a peaceful resolution of the Ukrainian crisis is the ongoing Western support of the Kiev regime," Lavrov said at a UNSC meeting.
The Russian foreign minister put the blame for the recent civilian deaths in a Donetsk market on those sending weapons to Kiev.
“The 'merchants of death' are not at all embarrassed that their weapons, including cluster munitions and shells with depleted uranium, methodically, mercilessly and deliberately hit purely civilian targets, as it was during the attack on residential areas of Belgorod on December 30 and yesterday on the market and shops of Donetsk," Lavrov said.
“The blood of dozens of dead civilians is on the conscience of those who arm (Volodymyr) Zelensky’s regime and at the same time officially declare that the Kiev authorities themselves have the right to choose targets for strikes,” the minister emphasized.
Conflict in Ukraine Just Business for the US
Lavrov compared the US position on military funding to Ukraine to a profitable business project.
"Mr. Blinken, the US secretary of state, focuses on the fact that continued assistance to Ukraine is a guarantee of creating new jobs in the United States. As if this is not about financing a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Ukraine, but about some kind of profitable business project," Lavrov said.
He recalled that a striking example of US entrepreneurial activity in Ukraine is the acquisition by the structures of businessman George Soros of black earth soils for the disposal of waste from the Western chemical industry.
“Most of the large Ukrainian factories and companies, including lithium production, were sold to the same Americans. Fertile lands were leased to them for an indefinite period, as we say, at a cheap price,” Lavrov added.
The Russian top diplomat highlighted that Kiev resells some Western weapons on the black market, and it is difficult to imagine that Western capitals do not know about this.
“In an effort to profit as much as possible from the conflict [in Ukraine], those in charge in Kiev are simply reselling some of the weapons supplied by the West on the black market,” the minister said. He noted that “you can find enough similar advertisements on the darknet.”
“It’s hard to imagine that this is happening without the knowledge and participation of Western businessmen, because, as they say, one hand washes the other,” the Russian minister added.
If Ukraine stops fighting, hundreds of thousands of its citizens will not have to die for Western geopolitical interests, he continued.
“Hundreds of thousands of those whom the Kiev authorities are trying to catch like cattle today on the streets, in bars, in churches and as cannon fodder will definitely save their lives for Western geopolitical interests and, as they say for 'democratic values',” the minister said.
Lavrov emphasized that there are no interests - and there never were - in the conflict with Russia in favor of the Ukrainian people. There are only “the interests of the Anglo-Saxons, their henchmen and the criminal, rotten Kiev elite, which is tied to the West by mutual responsibility and which is afraid of being swept away the day after the end of the war."
Russia Never Gave Up on Peaceful Resolution
Moscow has never given up on a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, he reminded.
"We never gave up on the peaceful resolution, we are always ready to negotiate — negotiate not about how to keep the leadership of the Kiev regime in place but about overcoming the inheritance of a decade-long destructive looting of the country and violence against the people, removing the reasons for the tragic Ukrainian situation," Lavrov said.
The minister added that the plans of both Kiev and its "masters" have nothing to do with peace.
So-Called Zelensky Peace Formula a Path to Nowhere
The so-called “Zelensky peace formula” and other similar formulas are a path to nowhere, and the sooner the US and EU realize this, the better, Lavrov said.
“It’s sad that the UN Secretariat is risking its reputation by participating in the absolutely surreal so-called Copenhagen format. All these formulas are a road to nowhere, and the sooner Washington, London, Paris, Brussels would realize this, the sooner the better for both Ukraine and West," Lavrov said.
The "peace formula", developed and promoted by Kiev, requires the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the provision of Euro-Atlantic security guarantees and the creation of a special tribunal to investigate "war crimes" attributed to Russia. Zelensky’s “peace formula” is considered in Moscow to be completely divorced from reality. Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it is ready for negotiations, but Kiev has introduced a ban on them at the legislative level.
The West calls on Russia for negotiations, for which Moscow shows readiness, but at the same time the West ignores Kiev’s constant refusals to engage in dialogue. Earlier, the Kremlin stated that there are currently no prerequisites for the situation in Ukraine to transition to a peaceful direction; the absolute priority for Russia is to achieve the goals of the special operation; at the moment this is only possible through military means.
As the Kremlin stated, the situation in Ukraine can move on to a peaceful course, provided that the de facto situation and new realities are taken into account; all Moscow’s demands are well known, Lavrov concluded.
US Turns Blind Eye to the Death of American Journalist in Ukrainian Prison
Western officials including those in the United States lack the courage to comment on the death of US citizen Gonzalo Lira.
“Has anyone in the West, especially the United States or any officials, said anything about this death? No.” Lavrov said. “And the Western delegations today and the representative of the Kiev regime will probably not find the courage to comment on this and other outrageous crimes by Zelensky and his colleagues.”
The State Department in January confirmed to Sputnik that Lira had died in a Ukrainian prison following a lengthy detention in Ukraine.
A dual citizen of the United States and Chile, blogger Gonzalo Lira was arrested by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) on May 5 on charges of justifying Russia's military operation in Ukraine and allegedly disseminating pro-Russian propaganda. He was released in July and later arrested again after he attempted to leave Ukraine by crossing the border with Hungary on a motorcycle.