Lavrov says Russia is open to serious proposal from the West

• Sergei Lavrov said Russia is eager to work with the U.S. or Turkey to end the eight-month battle.
• He said that Moscow would be open to any ideas, but he couldn’t say in advance if this would lead to results.
• Lavrov talked about the possibility that Russia and the West could meet in Turkey.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Tuesday that Moscow is open to talks with the West on the Ukraine war but hasn’t received a meaningful proposal.

Lavrov said Russia is eager to work with the U.S. or Turkey to end the eight-month battle.

His emphasis on Russia’s willingness to speak followed a series of defeats since September that have tilted the battle in Ukraine’s favor.

Lavrov stated White House national security spokesman John Kirby indicated the U.S. was open to talks but Russia rejected them.

“This is a lie,” Lavrov said. “We have not received any serious offers to make contact.”

He said Russia would contemplate a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden at a Group of 20 conferences in Indonesia in mid-November.

“We have repeatedly said that we never refuse meetings. If there is a proposal, then we will consider it,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov talked about the possibility that Russia and the West could meet in Turkey. He said that Moscow would be open to any ideas, but he couldn’t say in advance if this would lead to results.

He said that when both Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin go to Kazakhstan this week, Erdogan will be able to make suggestions to Putin.

Lavrov talked about the possibility that Russia and the West could meet in Turkey. He said that Moscow would be open to any ideas, but he couldn’t say in advance if this would lead to results.

He said that when both Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin go to Kazakhstan this week, Erdogan will be able to make suggestions to Putin.

Lavrov said that Russia and Ukraine had stopped talking directly at the end of March. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has said that he won’t talk to Putin after Russia claimed last month that it had taken over four parts of Ukraine that it already partly controls.

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