Lavrov: ‘We Cannot Agree to Resolving Security Guarantees Without Involving Russia’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the West of transforming Ukraine into a direct threat to Russia’s security following the 2014 coup, insisting that only by eliminating the “root causes of the conflict” can a diplomatic and political resolution be achieved. “We cannot agree to resolving security guarantees without involving Russia,” he said, stressing that Moscow’s security concerns cannot be ignored. Lavrov underlined that Russia does not have “exaggerated interests,” reminding that even the US acknowledges the impossibility of discussing European security without Russia’s participation.
Lavrov criticized Western leaders who call for an immediate ceasefire while simultaneously pledging to keep supplying weapons to Kyiv, describing this stance as a “provocation in support of war.” He said the current US administration wants to “eliminate the root causes of the crisis,” while Europeans remain focused on “pumping weapons into the Kiev regime.” He also accused the West of attempting to undermine President Donald Trump’s peace efforts, noting that EU leaders, such as Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, declared they would not trust any agreement with Russia. Lavrov called her remarks “a degradation of foreign policy.”
The foreign minister further denounced Western hesitation over recognizing Palestine, questioning why leaders must wait until September amid ongoing humanitarian suffering. “We are ready to work in any format — if it is an honest effort, not an attempt by Western leaders to drag the US into their hostile campaign to strengthen Ukraine as a tool to deter Russia,” Lavrov said. He revealed that Moscow had proposed elevating talks to include military, humanitarian, and political tracks, but Ukraine has yet to respond.
