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Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, said Moscow would not agree to any peace settlement with Ukraine unless what it calls the “root causes” of the war are removed.
Speaking during a briefing, the Russian diplomat repeated the Kremlin’s long-standing demands, including Ukraine’s permanent refusal to join NATO and maintaining a neutral status. Nebenzya also repeated Russian claims about alleged threats posed by Ukraine and accusations regarding the treatment of Russian-speaking populations.
“Before we reach any agreement, the root causes of this conflict must be eliminated,” he said, again naming NATO expansion as one of Moscow’s key grievances.
At the same time, Nebenzya claimed that Russia “never deliberately targets civilians,” despite continued large-scale Russian missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.
His remarks came shortly after one of the largest recent attacks on Kyiv and several other Ukrainian regions, which caused civilian casualties, residential destruction, and damage to cultural sites.
Ukraine has repeatedly rejected any peace terms that would limit its sovereignty or prevent it from independently choosing its foreign policy and security alliances.
