Lavrov says Trump's election victory will not change US attitude toward Ukraine conflict

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election will not lead to a change in Washington’s attitude toward the Ukrainian crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.

The US wants to keep everything under its control, Lavrov said in an interview with Russia's Rossiya-1 TV channel.

"Washington’s fundamental approach to Ukraine-related issues, as well as to those concerning Europe, will not change because Washington will always seek to control everything that is happening within NATO’s orbit, especially on NATO territory," he said.

"Besides, the lines between the European Union and NATO are becoming blurred both militarily and politically. How they will exert this control is anyone's guess. It’s not for me to speculate, but there are various options.

"But I have no doubt that they will want to keep these processes under their control,” he added.

In a separate statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said no preparations are being made for a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President-elect Trump.

During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to end the conflict in Ukraine before his inauguration, without providing details of his peace plan.

Putin outlined Russia's conditions for ending the conflict, including the withdrawal of Ukraine’s troops from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, Kyiv ending Ukraine's bid to join NATO, the lifting of all Western sanctions against Russia and the establishment of a neutral and nuclear-free status of Ukraine.