Russia's foreign minister has rejected a reported peace deal involving Ukraine and NATO, claiming that the proposals have been made by President-elect Trump's advisors.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made the comments during an interview with TASS, a state-run Russian news agency, on Monday. During the interview, Lavrov claimed that the U.S. plans "to suspend hostilities along the line of contact and transfer responsibility for confrontation with Russia to the Europeans."
"We are not happy, of course, with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine’s admission to NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine," the foreign minister said, though that deal has not been announced by any American officials.
Lavrov said that the proposal came through "leaks" and Trump's recent interview with TIME Magazine, but Trump's interview did not contain any references to NATO. The foreign minister also claimed that NATO "has been expanding its reach for many years, which became one of the primary causes of the Ukraine crisis."
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"Those who accuse Russia of various doings should be advised to look in the mirror instead," the foreign minister later said during the interview. "NATO military and mercenaries openly participate in the planning of combat operations and fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
"NATO is complicit in the invasion of the Kursk Region and long-range missile strikes inside Russia," Lavrov continued. "President Vladimir Putin made this very clear in his recent public statements."
During his TIME Person of the Year interview, Trump said that it was "an advantage to both sides," to end the Russo-Ukrainian war, and claimed that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if he were president in 2022.
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"I disagree very vehemently with sending missiles hundreds of miles into Russia. Why are we doing that?" Trump said at the time. "We're just escalating this war and making it worse…[but] I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you're going to reach an agreement is not to abandon."
Lavrov's recent interview came over a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed willingness to compromise with Trump, though he insisted that Russia is in a stronger position than it was in 2022.
"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out. In my opinion, soon there will be no one left who wants to fight," Putin was quoted as saying. "We are ready, but the other side needs to be ready for both negotiations and compromises."
"We have always said that we are ready for negotiations and compromises."
Fox News Digital reached out to Trump's team for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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