Russia: There can be no settlement of the Ukraine crisis without addressing its roots

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Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov stressed that reaching a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine faces great challenges, stressing that any solution to the crisis must address, in a radical and sustainable way, the reasons that prompted Moscow to launch the special military operation.

Ryabkov said, during the Economic Forum in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on Thursday, that current efforts are focused on searching for a way out of the Ukrainian crisis and its repercussions, but he pointed out that finding a path towards a settlement is not an easy matter, according to TASS.

He also added that Russia adheres to its position that any settlement, whether it comes through political and diplomatic means or by other means if political efforts falter, must ensure that the basic problems that led to the outbreak of the conflict are addressed.

He also stressed the importance of returning to the "root causes" of the crisis, considering that understanding and addressing the circumstances that led to this conflict constitute a basic condition for any sustainable solution.

It is noteworthy that the Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for more than 4 years, after Moscow launched on February 24, 2022, the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Since then, Russia has stressed that any settlement of the conflict must take into account the "root causes of the crisis," while Kiev and its Western allies maintain that ending the war requires the withdrawal of Russian forces and respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Recent months have also witnessed repeated diplomatic attempts to revive the negotiation process and reach a ceasefire, but the continuing discrepancy between Moscow and Kiev regarding the terms of the settlement still prevents tangible progress towards ending the conflict.