Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov assured this Friday that the United States continues to fail to address the "fundamental problems" that separate it from Moscow, although he expressed some hope in the Trump Administration's "pragmatism" to tackle these bilateral challenges.
During a press conference held during his visit to Atlanta (USA), where he traveled to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers summit, Lavrov denounced that "the fundamental problems are not being resolved, the sanctions continue, the current administration is repeating all the sanctions of (former US President Joe) Biden, introducing its own additional sanctions against Lukoil and Rosneft ".
The head of Russian diplomacy particularly criticized the announcement released this same Friday by the United States Department of State about the sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine, an operation that, he stressed, will be financed by European countries.
In his appearance, Lavrov acknowledged his frustration at the lack of progress: "Everything seems to be a waste of time, with no real progress in practice," he pointed out, before qualifying his stance and lowering the tone. "I believe the pragmatism characteristic of Americans can be of help. Although it will not be easy to agree on the summit's final documents," he stated.
The Russian minister reserved his most forceful criticism for Europe, which he reproaches for "trying to meddle" in the talks on Ukraine that are taking place under Washington's mediation.
Lavrov insisted that "they have shown with their actions that their reputation cannot be ignored when they once again try to act as a kind of guarantor," and directly accused France and Germany of promoting the breaking of the agreements signed with Kyiv before the Russian offensive of 2022, including the Minsk (Belarus) ones.