“Foreign Minister Dmitri Kuleba is not the only one who has resigned, there are actually seven or eight positions, such as ministers and deputy prime ministers, who have done so, and at the moment there is a fight in the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament), which is rejecting some resignations and accepting others,” Lavrov told the RBC channel.

Lavrov made this statement the day after the Ukrainian Legislature approved the appointment of Andrei Sibiga as the new Foreign Minister after the dismissal of Dmitri Kuleba.

On September 4th, the Verkhovna Rada also ratified the dismissal of the ministers of Justice, the Environment and for issues of strategic sectors of industry, as well as the deputy prime minister for Euro-Atlantic integration, Olga Stefanishina, among other senior authorities.

Lavrov indicated that several hypotheses are being considered in the media in relation to these changes: some say that the Ukrainian leader, Vladimir Zelensky, wants to get rid of some members of his team and then hold them responsible for the failures; others speak of “rats fleeing the ship.”

“Frankly, I don’t know and I don’t really care. Zelensky is not ready for a clean negotiation. And the West will not let him participate in the negotiation,” Lavrov said.

He pointed out that for Moscow some principles formulated two and a half years ago in Istanbul are still valid, particularly the non-incorporation of Ukraine into NATO. “These principles are still on the table. At least, we are willing to return to them, as long as the new reality is taken into account,” the minister explained.

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