Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia is "open" to contacts with U.S. presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner on the Ukraine issue, and is ready to respond to U.S. concerns.
Lavrov, speaking at a press conference following talks with Namibia's Minister of International Relations and Trade, said President Vladimir Putin has reiterated in recent weeks that Russia is open to engaging in talks on the condition that "these talks are approached seriously."
At the same time, Lavrov accused some European countries of using proposed ceasefire plans in Ukraine as a way to buy time for Ukraine, rather than as genuine efforts to end the conflict.
Also, on Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled a proposal to provide 90 billion euros (about 105.4 billion U.S. dollars) in loans to Ukraine for the 2026–2027 period, including 60 billion euros (about 70.3 billion U.S. dollar) for military support.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the Commission hopes to begin disbursing the first payment as early as April in line with an agreement reached at the EU summit in December last year.
According to the Commission, the money would be raised through joint borrowing on capital markets by the European Union. Twenty-four of the EU's 27 member states have agreed to participate. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have opted out due to their longstanding skepticism about the financial support for Ukraine.
Following the unveiling of the proposal, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote on social media X the same day that Ukraine had recently requested 800 billion U.S. dollars in support from the EU, which he claimed would translate into more than 9 billion U.S. dollars to be paid by Hungary.
Orban wrote, "One thing is certain: we say NO to the Brusselian war plan!"
Earlier, on January 3, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Ukraine would need 800 billion U.S. dollars for reconstruction and economic growth in the following 10 years. She noted that Ukraine hopes to secure this amount of money through a mix of grants, loans and private investment.
Russia 'open' to negotiations on Ukraine with US: Lavrov
