OMM Redaksiyası
Russia is ready to negotiate a sustainable and just peace in Ukraine but will not pause its military operation during talks, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday.
Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine in New York, Lavrov said Moscow’s position was shaped by what he called “bitter experience.”
“Having learned from bitter experience, we will not pause the special military operation for the period of negotiations in any format,” he said.
Lavrov accused European countries of seeking a pause to give Ukraine time to replenish its depleted military arsenals.
Russia rejects ceasefire-only agreement
At the same time, the Russian foreign minister said Moscow remained ready for negotiations aimed at securing a long-term settlement.
Referring to comments by US President Donald Trump in August 2025 after a meeting in Anchorage, Lavrov said the objective should be a peace agreement rather than a temporary ceasefire.
“Russia, and President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly confirmed this, is ready for negotiations to achieve precisely such a sustainable, just peace,” he said.
US diplomatic efforts
Lavrov said US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner had confirmed during a visit to Moscow that Washington remained interested in helping resolve the conflict, according to the source.
Witkoff and Kushner visited Moscow on Sept. 5, where they met with Putin. They traveled to Kyiv the following day for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Putin and Trump later held a telephone conversation on Sept. 8 to discuss the results of the diplomatic efforts.
Lavrov blames European states for failed guarantees
Lavrov also said Ukraine could have retained its 1991 borders if France, Germany and Poland had honored commitments to guarantee the implementation of an agreement reached between the Ukrainian opposition and the government in 2013-2014.
He accused the three European countries of allowing “a coup in Ukraine.”
“They cheated,” Lavrov said, arguing that the events ultimately led to the war and Ukraine’s loss of part of its territory.
