Russia: Ukrainian President's Ceasefire Remarks Do Not Reflect Genuine Desire for Peace

Moscow, September 30 (KUNA) -- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements about readiness to accept an immediate ceasefire “without preconditions” do not reflect, from Moscow’s perspective, a genuine desire to achieve a “just and sustainable peace.” In a press statement carried by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Zakharova described Zelensky’s remarks during the United Nations General Assembly on the ceasefire as “empty,” arguing that they aim to secure a truce to compensate for losses and prepare for further escalation. She noted that Kyiv’s efforts to raise the issue of the Crimean Peninsula through the so-called Crimea Platform, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s assessment, demonstrate a lack of desire for peace and a focus on confrontation. Zakharova warned that “any foreign military units on Ukrainian territory would be legitimate military targets for Russia,” a stance that comes in the context of repeated Russian warnings against any foreign military presence in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Zakharova accused Ukraine of “effectively becoming a key participant in arms smuggling operations,” cautioning that such weapons could reach the hands of criminals in European countries, without providing further details in the reported statements. On the diplomatic front, RIA Novosti quoted Zakharova as announcing that the eighth meeting of the “Moscow Format” consultations on Afghanistan at the level of special representatives would be held in Moscow on October 5, during which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would meet with the foreign minister of Afghanistan’s current regime on the sidelines of the consultations. She added that Lavrov would also attend the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), scheduled for October 7 in Turkmenistan. (End) D.A.N./N.A.A.