NOVO-OGARYOVO:Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with Security Council permanent members, addressing the biggest topics o...
NOVO-OGARYOVO:Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a meeting with Security Council permanent members, addressing the biggest topics of today, US President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Ukrainian settlement, and the Middle East situation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the meeting with a report.
TASS has compiled the highlights from the meeting.
Ukraine
President Putin said that the conflict settlement in Ukraine should lead to a lasting peace rather than to a short-lived respite. "As for settling the situation, I want to stress that its goal should be to achieve a lasting peace based on respect for the legitimate interests of all people, all peoples living in that region rather than a short-lived truce, some respite for regrouping forces and rearming for the purpose of subsequently continuing the conflict, but a lasting peace based on respecting the interests of all individuals, all peoples, who live in the region," the Russian leader emphasized.
Russia will fight for its interests and the interests of the Russian people, "which constitute the goal and essence of the special military operation," he added.
Trump, Russia-US relations
Putin congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration. The pre-election period was not easy for US President-elect Donald Trump, but he "displayed courage and won a convincing victory," the Russian leader said.
According to him, Russia welcomes the US president-elect’s commitment to preventing World War III and desire "to restore direct contacts" with Moscow.
The dialogue between the two countries must be grounded "in equality and mutual respect," given their important role, Putin said.
Russia is open to communication with the US administration about the Ukrainian conflict, he noted. "The most important thing there is to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, which we have talked about many times. This is the most essential thing," the Russian President emphasized.
Trump considers the conflict in Ukraine "one of the priority areas of his foreign policy efforts, with the goal of resolving it," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in turn.
Middle East
Lavrov expressed doubt that a stable peace has been reached in the Middle East following the signing of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. "Warnings are being issued from both sides: Israel is accused of violating the agreements, and Israel, in turn, is warning Hamas that they are not fully complying with what they signed," he clarified.
Putin asked the Russian foreign minister to continue working on the release of the remaining Russian national from Hamas captivity.
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