Lavrov says Russia ready to reach a deal on Ukraine

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow was ready to reach a deal on its war in Ukraine after US President Donald Trump urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to halt attacks, in a rare rebuke following the deadliest strikes on Kiev in months.

“We are ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points... which need to be fine-tuned, and we are busy with this,” Lavrov said in an interview with CBS News.

Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is due in Russia on Friday where he is expected to hold another round of ceasefire talks with Putin. Lavrov said the talks process was moving in the right direction, and negotiations would continue with Washington.

He said the US president was “probably the only leader on Earth who recognised the need to address the root causes of this situation”, but said Trump “did not spell out the elements of the deal”.

Trump, however, issued a direct appeal to Putin following missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital early Thursday which left at least 12 people dead. It was the latest in a wave of Russian aerial attacks that have killed dozens of civilians, defying Trump's push to bring about a rapid end to the bloodshed.

“I am not happy with the Russian strikes,” Trump said on social media. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP!” asserted Trump, who is accused of favouring Russia and has often vilified Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When asked by reporters what concessions Moscow had offered in negotiations to end the war, Trump said: “Stopping taking the whole country -- pretty big concession.”

Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, hoping to take the country in days, but has since been bogged down in a bloody war with huge casualties on both sides.

The Crimea issue

Zelenskyy cut short a trip to South Africa to deal with the aftermath of the latest strikes. He questioned whether Kiev’s allies were doing enough to force Putin to agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire.

“I don’t see any strong pressure on Russia or any new sanctions packages against Russia's aggression,” Zelenskyy said, highlighting that Trump had previously warned of repercussions if Moscow did not agree to pause the fighting. Trump on Wednesday had accused Zelenskyy of frustrating peace efforts by ruling out recognising Russia’s claim over Crimea, a territory the US president said was “lost years ago”.

Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014. “We do everything that our partners have proposed; only what contradicts our legislation and the Constitution we cannot do,” Zelenskyy said in response to a question about Crimea.

In contrast, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday it was Moscow, not Kiev, that needed to move forward in negotiations. “The balls are clearly in the Ru

'Pulled out of the rubble'

Russia fired at least 70 missiles and 145 drones at Ukraine between on late Wednesday and early Thursday, the main target being Kiev, the Ukrainian air force said.

“As of 5:30 pm (1430 GMT), the death toll in Kiev’s Sviatoshinsky district has risen to 12,” Ukraine’s state emergency services reported, with the number of wounded rising to 90. Russia said it had targeted Ukraine’s defence industry, including plants that produced “rocket fuel and gunpowder”.

Asked about the strikes, Lavrov told CBS News: “We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military.” “If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defence, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them.”

Ukraine has been battered by aerial attacks throughout Russia’s three-year offensive but strikes on Kiev, better protected by air defences than other cities, are less common.

Zelenskyy said Russia used a North Korean ballistic missile in the strikes. Olena Davydiuk, a 33-year-old lawyer in Kiev, told AFP she saw windows breaking and doors “falling out of their hinges”. “People were being pulled out of the rubble,” she added.

Zelenskyy said that on the ground, Russian forces had been attacking Ukrainian positions on Thursday, following the Kiev strikes. “Basically, the Russians tried to go on the offence under the cover of their massive strike,” he said on X.

“While the bulk of our forces were focused on protection from missiles and drones, the Russians significantly intensified their ground attacks.”ssian court now,” Rutte told reporters at the White House after meeting Trump.

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Source: TRT