Russia Not Satisfied with Trump Team’s Proposals on Ukraine — Lavrov

At the same time, Lavrov noted that Moscow has not received any official signals from the United States on the Ukrainian settlement at the moment

© Vladimir Gerdo/TASS

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russia is not satisfied with the proposals of US President-elect Donald Trump's team to postpone Ukraine's membership in NATO for 20 years and to deploy a contingent of EU and UK peacekeepers there, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with TASS.

"Judging by numerous leaks and Donald Trump's own interview with Time magazine on December 12, he is talking about ‘freezing’ hostilities along the line of engagement and transferring further responsibility for confronting Russia to the Europeans. We are certainly not satisfied with the proposals made by representatives of the president-elect's team to postpone Ukraine's membership in NATO for 20 years and to deploy a peacekeeping contingent of ‘UK and European forces’ in Ukraine," the top diplomat emphasized.

At the same time, Lavrov noted that Moscow has not received any official signals from the United States on the Ukrainian settlement at the moment. "Until January 20 - the date of inauguration - Donald Trump has the status of 'president-elect,' and all policy on all fronts is determined by the incumbent president and his administration. And so far, only the latter is authorized to engage with Russia on behalf of the United States. From time to time, as we are regularly informed, this happens, but there is no talk of negotiations on Ukraine in such contacts," the Russian foreign minister explained.