Lavrov States Agreement with U.S. on Ukraine Unlikely, Russia Will Not Rely on the West

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that reaching an agreement with the United States on a peace deal for Ukraine is "no easy matter." He reiterated that Russia will not relinquish the Ukrainian territories it has occupied and will no longer depend on the West. Lavrov also claimed that economic globalization has been "destroyed." Lavrov emphasized that Ukraine must officially abandon its aspirations to join NATO and withdraw its troops from all territories in the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claims as its own.