Russia says it will consider 'all serious' peace proposals on Ukraine

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday said Moscow will consider "all serious proposals for the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, taking into account the legitimate interests of the Russian Federation."

Addressing a news conference after meeting his Myanmar counterpart Than Swe in Moscow, Lavrov said "serious" proposals should take into account "the realities on earth and basic legitimate interests" of Russia.

The minister said he shared assessments of events in Ukraine with Than Swe, appreciating the "balanced, objective position of the Myanmar friends."

Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February of last year to "denazify" and "demilitarize" Ukraine, and protect the Russian-speaking population of the neighboring country. The West, however, calls it "a war of aggression."

Commenting on the situation in Asia, Lavrov said NATO's plans to influence the Asia-Pacific region "pose a particular danger to this region."

The minister noted that at the 18th East Asian Summit held in Jakarta last week, all regional countries "unequivocally" spoke in favor of preserving the ASEAN-centric architecture.

"We will continue to actively support them in this," he stressed.

For his part, Than Swe said Myanmar looks forward to developing bilateral cooperation with Russia in all spheres.

"Our delegation is here to support the previous results that were achieved in Vladivostok (at the Eastern Economic Forum). We hope that during this visit we will find a common interaction to improve cooperation in all sectors between the two sides," he said.