Russia expects no change in US stance on Ukraine

KABUL (Pajhwok): The US will continue to cling to its strategic interests and will not change its stance on the Ukraine conflict after the Nov. 5 presidential vote, believes a top Russian diplomat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Donald Trump’s massive electoral win would not change Washington’s approach to the Ukraine situation.

“Washington will always seek to control everything that is happening within NATO’s orbit, especially on NATO territory,” Lavrov said in an interview with Rossiya-1 TV.

He was quoted as saying by TASS: “Besides, the lines between the European Union and NATO are becoming blurred both militarily and politically.

“How they will exert this control is anyone’s guess, it’s not for me to speculate, but there are various options. But that they will want to keep these processes under their control is not in doubt.”

On the campaign trail, Trump had promised putting an end to the war in Ukraine even before returning to the White House. However, he did not go into the details of his peace plan.

But Russian President Vladimir Putin inists Ukraine must pull its troops out of Donbass and Novorossiya and drop plans to join NATO.

At the same time, Russia also wants all Western sanctions to be lifted and Ukraine’s non-bloc and non-nuclear status guaranteed.

PAN Monitor/mud