MOSCOW/PARIS - Russia is ready to seek a negotiated solution to the Ukraine crisis based on understandings reached by the leaders of Russia and the United States, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
He said Russia remains fully committed to the outcomes of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held in the US city of Anchorage, Alaska in August last year, and noted that Moscow expects its interests to be fully taken into account in the process of reaching mutually acceptable agreements with partners open to honest and direct dialogue.
Lavrov said Russia would continue to uphold truth and justice in international affairs and promote a multipolar world grounded in the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, adding that Moscow would oppose double standards, hidden agendas, imposed settlement formulas, as well as practices of neocolonialism and hegemonism.
The foreign minister also said Russia would prioritize strengthening strategic partnerships with emerging centers of a multipolar world, adding that Russia and like-minded partners would work to accelerate the development of sanctions-resistant mechanisms for trade, investment, financial and logistical cooperation.
Operator: One power line of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant cut
On the same day, one of the two external power transmission lines supplying the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was cut following a Ukrainian attack, the plant's operator said.
The 330-kilovolt Ferosplavna-1 line was disconnected as a result of the attack. Electricity needed to maintain the plant's operations is currently being supplied through the second 750-kilovolt external line.
The attack also damaged a main heating pipeline, leading to a temporary suspension of heat supply to residential buildings and social facilities in the industrial zone of Energodar.
No casualties have been reported so far. The situation at the plant remains under control, with radiation levels at the site and surrounding areas within normal limits and no threat to radiation safety, the operator said.
Russia detains 3rd suspect assassin
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Tuesday that it has detained a third suspect over an attempted assassination of a senior Russian military officer.
The suspect, a Russian citizen, attempted to kill Lieutenant General Vladimir Alekseyev, a deputy chief of Russia's military intelligence agency, who was shot several times inside a residential building in Northwest Moscow on Friday, the FSB said in a statement.
According to the FSB, he provided vehicles and surveillance equipment to two previously detained suspects, and assisted in collecting information on potential targets.
The FSB said the suspect's testimony helped identify two additional senior officials of Russia's Ministry of Defense who had allegedly been under surveillance in the interests of Ukrainian intelligence services.
Media: A possible dialogue between Russia and France
French President Emmanuel Macron has said that dialogue channels with Russia had been restored at a technical level, European media outlets reported on Tuesday.
According to Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung, Macron said in an interview on Monday that he hoped the move could be shared with European partners and lead to a well-organized European approach. He stressed that dialogue with Russia should take place "without too many interlocutors," the report said.
France's Le Figaro reported that Macron again argued against "delegating" this dialogue to the US.
Following the Greenland crisis, Macron called on Europeans not to give in to what he described as a "cowardly relief" that would only be short-lived, Le Monde reported.
Noting that threats from the US occur on a daily basis, Macron stressed that Europe must not back down or seek compromise when there is "blatant aggression," the report said.
Macron also advocated a coordinated European response to protect industry through a "European preference" for certain strategic sectors, including cleantech, chemicals, steel, automotive and defense, warning that otherwise Europeans risk being swept aside.
