Lavrov: If Russia Returns to Work With the West, It Will Be Carried Out on New Principles

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - If and when Russia returns to joint work with the West, it will be conducted on new principles, the old approaches no longer work, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Sputnik.

"One of the lessons is that if and when we return to joint work, then it will have to be conducted on a new basis, as the old approaches no longer work," Lavrov said.

After the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, the West stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia, which led to an increase in prices for electricity, fuel and food in Europe and the United States.

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier said the policy to contain and weaken Russia is a long-term strategy for the West, and sanctions have dealt a severe blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to make the lives of millions of people worse. Russia has repeatedly said it will solve the problems the West creates for it.

The Russian foreign minister further noted during the interview that the current Ukrainian politicians are unable to negotiate, leaving talks at an impasse.

"The current set of Ukrainian politicians are well known to everyone for their inability to negotiate," Lavrov said. "Most of them are outright Russophobes."

Moscow has repeatedly indicated that it is ready for talks, but Kiev has imposed a ban on them at the legislative level.

“It is obvious that Kiev is not ready for dialogue. Putting forward all sorts of ideas and 'formulas of peace', Zelensky cherishes the illusion of achieving, with the help of the West, the withdrawal of our troops from the Russian territory of Donbass, Crimea, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, the payment of reparations by Russia, admission of guilt in international tribunals, etc. We will certainly not talk to anyone on such terms," ​​Lavrov said.

In fact, during Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky's joint press conference with US President Joe Biden, the Ukrainian official underscored that "there can't be any just peace" with Russia amid ongoing hostilities. He later went on to refer to Russians as "non-humans."

Touching on the Ukrainian president's recent US visit, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov earlier noted that the scheduled visit signaled Washington's plans to continue using Kiev as a proxy for an indirect war against Russia, as opposed to calling for peace plans.

"Not a single word was heard from Mr. Zelensky about the continued barbaric shelling of residential buildings in the settlements of the Donbass," Peskov told journalists at the time. "No real calls for peace."

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 in response to calls by the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for protection from Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defense Ministry said the operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, aims to "demilitarize and denazify" Ukraine, and to completely liberate Donbass.