White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby earlier said that Washington does not want a war with Russia as it would affect the European continent.
"In Washington, they are convinced that a new global war will affect not the US, but their European allies. If this analysis forms the basis of the Biden administration's strategy, it is a very dangerous misconception, and Europeans should realize what a suicidal role has been assigned to them," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a UN Security Council meeting.
Lavrov arrived in New York to chair open ministerial-level debates on July 16-17.
Any resolution of the European crisis must include concrete steps to eliminate the threats to Russia that emanate from the West, the diplomat went on to say.
"It is necessary to eliminate once and for all the root causes of the crisis in Europe... The political and diplomatic resolution must be accompanied by concrete steps to eliminate threats to the Russian Federation from the Western Euro-Atlantic direction," Lavrov stated.
He recalled that Moscow's conditions for establishing lasting peace in Ukraine have already been outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin also noted that Zelensky's term has expired and his legitimacy cannot be restored by any means. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin does not rule out negotiations with Ukraine, as there are other legitimate authorities there.
For his part, Lavrov emphasized that Russia is ready to seek a balance of interests to resolve the current crisis in Ukraine, taking into account new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent.
"In agreeing on mutual guarantees and agreements, we will have to take into account the new geostrategic realities on the Eurasian continent, where a genuinely equal and indivisible security architecture is being formed. Europe risks lagging behind this objectively historical process. We are ready to seek a balance of interests," Lavrov said during the UN Security Council meeting.
Additionally, Russia's top diplomat urged all those interested in overcoming the Ukrainian crisis to consider the issue of national minorities.
"We urge all those who show a sincere interest in overcoming the crisis in Ukraine to consider in any of their proposals the key issue of the rights of national minorities. All without exception," Lavrov stated during the UN Security Council meeting on multilateral cooperation for a fairer, more democratic, and sustainable world order.
He added that ignoring this issue devalues peace initiatives.