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Any resolution to the Ukraine conflict must comprehensively address Russia's security concerns, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said at a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, RT reported.
Russia's core demands include a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO, demilitarization of the country, international recognition of territorial changes, and the protection of Russian-speaking population. "We cannot be satisfied with a resolution that fails to fully address Russia's legitimate security interests or to eliminate and prevent future violations of the rights of Russian and Russian-speaking populations," Lavrov told journalists in Moscow on Friday. Saudi Arabia has acted as a mediator in the Ukraine conflict, having hosted high-profile talks between US and Russian delegations in February. Moscow has long viewed NATO's eastward expansion as a major threat to national security and has cited Ukraine's ambition to join the US-led military bloc as a key trigger of the current conflict. President Vladimir Putin said last week that Moscow's concerns about NATO activities have been consistently ignored and met with silence, RT reported. Lavrov's comments also reflect longstanding concerns about the treatment of Russian-speaking community in Ukraine. Although Russian is the mother tongue of an estimated 33% of the population, the authorities have introduced a series of measures that restrict their rights. Recent legislation has significantly reduced Russian-language instruction in public schools, mandated the use of Ukrainian across all public sector services, and banned the import of books and other publishing materials from Russia, RT reported. Amid these concerns, Lavrov reiterated Russia's broader position on the conflict, stating during talks with his Kyrgyz counterpart Jeenbek Kulubaev on Sunday that Western nations will not succeed in inflicting a "strategic defeat" on Russia, RT reported. "We are witnessing an unprecedented confrontation between our country and the collective West, which has decided to once again go to war against us and inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, essentially using the Nazi regime in Kiev as a battering ram," Lavrov stated. "The West has never succeeded in this, and it will not succeed this time either," RT quoted. Lavrov further noted that many Western policymakers "are beginning to guess" that their hawkish approach toward Russia is futile. His comments echo earlier warnings from Moscow against Western support for the Kiev regime and the increasing militarization efforts by NATO and the European Union, RT reported. At a recent EU summit in Brussels, most member states supported more sanctions and aid for Ukraine. However, Hungary vetoed the final statement and blocked the beginning of Kiev's EU accession talks. While Moscow initially adopted a neutral stance on Ukraine's EU membership bid, labeling it a "sovereign right" so long as the bloc remained an economic entity, Russian officials have expressed increasing criticism as Brussels escalates its military spending. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and former President Dmitry Medvedev stated that the EU now poses "no less of a threat" to Russia than NATO. RT reported that Russian officials have strongly condemned the EU's recent decision for member states to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP. The increase was presented as a deterrent against the "long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security." Moscow has consistently denied any intention of attacking Western nations, dismissing such claims as "nonsense" used to justify increased military budgets. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused NATO of fabricating threats as a means to extract funds from the citizens of its member countries. (ANI)
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