Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has been speaking to the press on the sidelines of the SPIEF meeting. In an interview with Izvestia he said bluntly that there has been no progress to date on U.S.-Russian talks to find a negotiated end to the Ukraine war. “On August 15, it will be one year since the Alaska summit was held to consider American proposals on Ukraine. The Russian leadership accepted these proposals. And since then, we have not seen any progress, no desire to convince Ukraine to accept these American proposals.” He added, however, that “the United States is the only one who recognized the need to eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis: Russia’s security problems through Ukraine’s involvement in NATO and the need to recognize the realities that have developed on the ground following the referenda in southeastern Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov echoed a similar theme in [comments to the press,](https://tass.com/politics/2142475 ) noting that, despite the “significant contradictions in their the White House’s) statements, it is specific actions that matter. And in these tangible efforts, we see a truly sincere desire on the part of President Trump and some members of his team to help resolve the Ukrainian conflict.” And Russia appreciates the United States’ offering its good offices regarding the Ukrainian settlement, noting that “this mission of good offices is costly, and we highly value it, and we are grateful to the Americans for this.”
Foreign Minister Lavrov used another interview, this one with [RT Arabic, to denounce the Trump administration’s plan to exclude South Africa from the upcoming G20 summit Miami. “Truth be told,” Lavrov stated, “the G20 is facing a serious challenge as a result of the decision by the United States, which will host the G20 Summit in Miami later this year, not to invite South Africa. In fact, saying ‘they decided not to invite South Africa’ doesn’t cover it; they have simply decided, unilaterally, to take it off the list. This is totally unacceptable. We are currently formulating our position on this matter both within BRICS and through our other contacts. This issue will take center stage at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting,” Lavrov advised.
