US facing headwinds in convincing Zelenskyy, NATO allies, ready to meet Rubio, says Russia

Moscow: The US seems to be facing headwinds in persuading Kyiv and NATO allies not to interfere in its efforts towards settling the Ukraine crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday.

Lavrov said he is ready to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio but maintained that ending the conflict is impossible without taking Russian interests into account and eradicating its root causes.

Lavrov’s comments came weeks after unsuccessful efforts for a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump, as a follow up of the talks between the two leaders at Anchorage in Alaska on August 15 where they had not reached a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“The Americans assured us back then (Alaska summit) that they would be able to ensure that Zelenskyy would not impede the achievement of peace.

“Furthermore, as far as we know, Brussels and London are trying to persuade Washington to abandon its intention to resolve the crisis through political and diplomatic means and fully engage in efforts to exert military pressure on Russia, that is, to finally become part of the ‘war

party’,” he said.