Moscow — Russia accuses that Ukraine is deliberately blocking any path toward a lasting peace, arguing that Kyiv’s push for international security guarantees runs directly counter to Moscow’s core conditions for halting hostilities, a dispute that remains central to the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian regime and its representatives comment on the current situation in a very specific way, directly showing that they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Alleging that Kyiv is using international guarantees as a shield to prolong the Ukraine war. He argued that Ukraine’s demands amount to aligning with the West, which Russia sees as a direct threat to its security.
Lavrov repeated Moscow’s warning that the potential deployment of European troops in Ukraine would be “absolutely unacceptable,” calling such a move a reckless provocation designed to escalate tensions. He also said that while Russian president Vladimir Putin remains open to meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, such a summit could only happen once senior officials had resolved all major outstanding issues.
For Ukraine, Zelenskyy has insisted that any talks with Russia must be preceded by binding international security guarantees, backed by Western partners, to ensure that Russia cannot launch another invasion in the future. He underlined that Kyiv is preparing for prolonged hostilities, pointing to both Russian troop buildups and Ukraine’s recent testing of long-range cruise missiles.
Diplomatic efforts have gained little traction, despite repeated attempts by outside powers to mediate. US President Donald Trump has sought to bring both leaders into direct dialogue, but Western allies continue to stress the need for enforceable guarantees before any peace deal can be credible.
According to Al Jazeera, Lavrov’s comments on August 21 underscore Russia’s belief that Ukraine is strategically stalling, deliberately tying peace prospects to conditions that Moscow sees as impossible to accept.
By demanding extensive international security guarantees and insisting on the return of occupied territories, Kyiv is, in Russia’s view, setting preconditions that amount to prolonging the Ukraine war rather than resolving it.
The rhetoric illustrates just how far both sides remain from achieving the “long-term peace” they publicly invoke, with Moscow framing Ukraine’s position as a Western-orchestrated tactic to delay negotiations and solidify NATO’s footprint in Eastern Europe.
