Russian foreign minister: Russia never aimed to seize Crimea or Donbas
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that Russia never sought to seize Ukrainian territories, but only wanted to protect Russian people.
Source: Kremlin-aligned news agency RBC (RosBusinessConsulting), citing an interview with Lavrov on the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company
Quote from Lavrov: "I want to emphasise once again that we have never said we just need to seize some territories. Neither Crimea, nor Donbas, nor Novorossiya [no such country exists, but this is what Russians call Ukraine – ed.] as territories have ever been our goal."
Details: Lavrov claims that Moscow has "always wanted to protect the Russian people who have lived in the above-mentioned territories for hundreds of years".
He also said that during Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s presidency, Ukraine apparently "passed laws that aimed to destroy the rights of Russian speakers", but did not provide any details.
Why this matters: Russia invaded and occupied Ukraine's Crimea and part of Donbas back in 2014. In 2022, the Russian Federation launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, attacking civilian settlements across the country with missiles and bombs during the night. It was noteworthy that in the early days, Russian propagandists were busily spreading claims that Russia would "capture Kyiv in three days", and the Russian soldiers advancing on Kyiv had dress uniforms with them so that they could parade down Kyiv’s main street, Khreshchatyk, when the "three days" were up.
Background:
- On 15 August, talks took place between US President Donald Trump and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
- After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in Washington on 18 August, Trump said that he hopes to organise US-Ukraine-Russia talks as soon as possible.
- Zelenskyy has confirmed that preparations are underway, first for a meeting between him and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and later for a trilateral meeting including US President Donald Trump.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that Zelenskyy and Putin will meet within the next two weeks.
- Reuters has reported that the US administration thinks the meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin could take place in Hungary
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