Russia's Lavrov flat out rejects Zelenskyy's conditions for 'peace formula'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday put the kibosh on a proposed "peace formula" offered by Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing Zelenskyy of being a puppet of western countries. 

"Obviously, Kyiv is not ready for dialogue," Lavrov told the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. 

"Putting forward all sorts of ideas and 'formulas of peace,' Zelensky cherishes the illusion of achieving, with the help of the West, the withdrawal of our troops from the Russian territory of Donbas, Crimea, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region, the payment of reparations by Russia, and the surrender to international tribunals and the like," he said, according to Newsweek. 

"Of course, we will not talk to anyone under such conditions," Lavrov added.

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Zelenskyy proposed a 10-step "peace formula" while addressing the G20 in November, which included a war tribunal to hold the Kremlin accountable for war crimes committed in Ukraine. He also said Russia must withdraw its troops, cease hostilities, and restore Ukraine's state borders, including the four territories Russia annexed with sham referendums – Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – and the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized in 2014. 

Russia has flat-out rejected these demands.

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"There can be no peace plan for Ukraine that does not take into account today’s realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia. Plans that do not take these realities into account cannot be peaceful," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Associated Press on Monday that Ukraine wants a peace summit within a two-month time frame and called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to serve as mediator.

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But Kuleba said that while Kyiv will try to win the war in 2023, it does not believe that Russia would take part in the summit.

"What sort of ‘peace summit’ can occur without Russia," Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said, according to Russian state-owned news outlet Tass.

Polyansky called the proposal "diplomacy 404" and, in turn, said it was "very easy" to imagine a summit without Ukraine.

The UN chief has said he will only act as a mediator if both Russia and Ukraine want him to do so. 

Fox News' Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.

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