US has every opportunity to convince Ukraine to end conflict: Russia

Moscow, Sep 12 (IANS) Russia on Friday stated that the United States under President Donald Trump has "every opportunity" to influence Kyiv to eliminate the root causes of the conflict in Ukraine.

"We are confident that the current American administration has every opportunity to encourage the so-called Ukrainian leadership to end the conflict, eliminate the root causes of its occurrence and return to the origins of its own statehood," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova during a regular media briefing in Moscow.

The senior diplomat was quoted as saying by the Russian state-owned news agency Tass that "the best guarantees of Ukraine's security are the establishment of its neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear status, which is enshrined in the declaration of state sovereignty of 1990."

Zakharova stated during the briefing that it was in this status that Ukraine gained independence and was recognised by the international community, including Moscow.

Confirmation of this declaration "was contained in the draft peace agreement that was being developed in the spring of 2022," the diplomat noted, as per Tass. "And, let me remind you, this scheme suited the Kyiv regime quite well. However, at the insistence of the British, as you know, it refused to negotiate and withdrew from the negotiation process," she added.

"I have not heard from any current figure that the declaration of state sovereignty of 1990 was [adopted] under pressure, signed there or something else. They have always been proud of this document. Therefore, this is the origin of their statehood. This is what guarantees the security of Ukraine and can become the key to future peace. This is what we need to call for. And whoever does this is a great guy," the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry mentioned.

--IANS

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