Lavrov: West wants strategic defeat of Russia on battlefield

Speaking during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in the capital Ankara on Friday, Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov underlined in his remarks: "West, that has been waging a hybrid war against Russian side in Ukraine, wants the strategic defeat of Russia on the battlefield."
Lavrov added that statements by Western countries, saying it is not the right time to declare a cease-fire and their arms supplies to Kyiv, show they do not want to resolve Ukraine's conflict.

ANY UKRAINE PEACE TALKS SHOULD BE ABOUT 'NEW WORLD ORDER'

Moscow wants any Ukraine peace talks to be centred on creating a "new world order", Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Türkiye.
"Any negotiation needs to be based on taking into account Russian interests... needs to be about the principles on which the new world order will be based," Lavrov said.
He added that Russia rejects a "unipolar world order led by 'one hegemon'".

RUSSIA TO WORK OUTSIDE GRAIN DEAL IF WEST MAINTAINS 'OBSTACLES'

Lavrov said that Russia could work outside the Black Sea grain deal if Western countries maintain what he called "obstacles".
Lavrov said that Russian grain and fertilizer exports were affected by a lack of access to insurance and to the SWIFT financial messaging system.
He called on European countries that he said have a surplus of Ukrainian grain to donate some of it to poor countries.
Last July, Türkiye, the UN, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal in Istanbul to resume grain exports from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports which were paused after the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022. The deal was extended for 120 days in November and for another 60 days in March.

LAVROV: U.S. BLOCKING MIDDLE EAST QUARTET MEETINGS

Lavrov accused the United States of blocking meetings of the Quartet on the Middle East - comprised of Russia, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations.
Ukraine crisis and energy cooperation with Ankara, Lavrov also said he did not rule out a possible face-to-face meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at UN headquarters if there was a "serious proposal" for dialogue.

LAVROV: CHINA IS NEXT TARGET OF WEST

Lavrov said on Friday that the West "is not hiding" that China is the "next target" after Russia, as well as any country that "dares to act independently."

"They do not hide that when Russia, as they put it, is 'defeated,' China will be the next target as well as any country that dares to act independently and decides to be guided by its national interests, and not by what the US and the other Western countries determine," Lavrov said in a statement.