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Lavrov Says US Rejects Ukraine NATO Bid, Cites 'Ground Realities'
(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday that Washington's stance on the Ukraine conflict rests on acknowledging "realities on the ground" while ruling out Ukrainian membership in NATO.
Speaking to Channel One's Bolshaya Igra program, Lavrov said these two principles have anchored recent exchanges between Russian and American officials, including a Moscow meeting between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and President Vladimir Putin.
“I can safely tell you that the substance of what was discussed is based on the position that President Trump set out on Ukraine immediately after returning to the Oval Office,” Lavrov said.
He identified the first pillar of Washington's approach as abandoning efforts to draw Ukraine into the alliance.
“He (Trump) said, first of all, that they should even forget about trying to bring Ukraine into the North Atlantic Alliance,” Lavrov said, noting that Trump had called the matter "settled."
The second pillar, Lavrov explained, involves US acknowledgment of the situation on the ground — a phrase he said Moscow interprets as referring not merely to territory, but to the populations living there and their political leanings.
“The realities on the ground that President Trump and his team recognize, as far as we can judge, and continue to recognize ... are connected with people,” he said.
Lavrov brushed aside speculation over what Witkoff and Kushner discussed during their Moscow and Kyiv meetings, noting that Washington has not publicly detailed its next diplomatic moves.
“A lady, a member of the Verkhovnaya Rada (Ukraine's parliament) has already said that what they (Witkoff and Kushner) brought was far worse than what Ukraine had previously rejected,” he said.
He also pushed back on reports suggesting direct Russia-US-Ukraine negotiations would automatically resume following Russia's September 20 parliamentary elections, attributing those claims to French officials rather than the US.
Europe accused of squandering diplomatic openings
Turning to Brussels, Lavrov argued that European nations repeatedly missed chances to contribute meaningfully to resolving the conflict.
“Europeans had a huge number of opportunities to play a constructive role. They believe that without them there can be no negotiations, that they must be at the negotiating table,” he said.
He pointed to the 2015 negotiations that produced the Minsk agreements as one missed opening, along with the 2022 Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine, claiming Russian negotiators had agreed to terms proposed by Kyiv at the time.
Lavrov took aim at former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former French President Francois Hollande, and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, arguing their later remarks about the Minsk process revealed the agreements had merely bought Ukraine time to rebuild its military.
He also challenged former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's version of events surrounding the collapse of the 2022 talks, citing claims from David Arakhamia — leader of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People faction both then and now — that Johnson had pressed Ukrainian officials against signing any deal with Russia.
“The Europeans had other opportunities to take the same reasonable and responsible position as the Trump administration — to look at the real facts, the situation on the ground, including the people who live there and their views,” Lavrov said.
Instead, he claimed, European governments kept pushing for Russia's "strategic defeat" while framing Ukraine's fight as a defense of European values — an argument Lavrov rejected outright, accusing Kyiv of discriminating against people based on language, nationality and religion.
Pressed on his earlier warnings of a potential new war breaking out in Europe, Lavrov said they stemmed from repeated comments by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz casting Russia as Europe's foremost threat and calling for Germany to become the continent's dominant military power.
Lavrov said Merz has consistently argued that Germany must prepare for a possible conflict against what he calls the Russian threat.
“He really believes this,” Lavrov said, adding that he did not view Merz's comments as a "Freudian slip."
Asked whether a trilateral summit involving Putin, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could take place in China this November, Lavrov said the Russian president would not dismiss the possibility of such a meeting.
Speaking to Channel One's Bolshaya Igra program, Lavrov said these two principles have anchored recent exchanges between Russian and American officials, including a Moscow meeting between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and President Vladimir Putin.
“I can safely tell you that the substance of what was discussed is based on the position that President Trump set out on Ukraine immediately after returning to the Oval Office,” Lavrov said.
He identified the first pillar of Washington's approach as abandoning efforts to draw Ukraine into the alliance.
“He (Trump) said, first of all, that they should even forget about trying to bring Ukraine into the North Atlantic Alliance,” Lavrov said, noting that Trump had called the matter "settled."
The second pillar, Lavrov explained, involves US acknowledgment of the situation on the ground — a phrase he said Moscow interprets as referring not merely to territory, but to the populations living there and their political leanings.
“The realities on the ground that President Trump and his team recognize, as far as we can judge, and continue to recognize ... are connected with people,” he said.
Lavrov brushed aside speculation over what Witkoff and Kushner discussed during their Moscow and Kyiv meetings, noting that Washington has not publicly detailed its next diplomatic moves.
“A lady, a member of the Verkhovnaya Rada (Ukraine's parliament) has already said that what they (Witkoff and Kushner) brought was far worse than what Ukraine had previously rejected,” he said.
He also pushed back on reports suggesting direct Russia-US-Ukraine negotiations would automatically resume following Russia's September 20 parliamentary elections, attributing those claims to French officials rather than the US.
Europe accused of squandering diplomatic openings
Turning to Brussels, Lavrov argued that European nations repeatedly missed chances to contribute meaningfully to resolving the conflict.
“Europeans had a huge number of opportunities to play a constructive role. They believe that without them there can be no negotiations, that they must be at the negotiating table,” he said.
He pointed to the 2015 negotiations that produced the Minsk agreements as one missed opening, along with the 2022 Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine, claiming Russian negotiators had agreed to terms proposed by Kyiv at the time.
Lavrov took aim at former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former French President Francois Hollande, and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, arguing their later remarks about the Minsk process revealed the agreements had merely bought Ukraine time to rebuild its military.
He also challenged former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's version of events surrounding the collapse of the 2022 talks, citing claims from David Arakhamia — leader of Ukraine's ruling Servant of the People faction both then and now — that Johnson had pressed Ukrainian officials against signing any deal with Russia.
“The Europeans had other opportunities to take the same reasonable and responsible position as the Trump administration — to look at the real facts, the situation on the ground, including the people who live there and their views,” Lavrov said.
Instead, he claimed, European governments kept pushing for Russia's "strategic defeat" while framing Ukraine's fight as a defense of European values — an argument Lavrov rejected outright, accusing Kyiv of discriminating against people based on language, nationality and religion.
Pressed on his earlier warnings of a potential new war breaking out in Europe, Lavrov said they stemmed from repeated comments by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz casting Russia as Europe's foremost threat and calling for Germany to become the continent's dominant military power.
Lavrov said Merz has consistently argued that Germany must prepare for a possible conflict against what he calls the Russian threat.
“He really believes this,” Lavrov said, adding that he did not view Merz's comments as a "Freudian slip."
Asked whether a trilateral summit involving Putin, Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping could take place in China this November, Lavrov said the Russian president would not dismiss the possibility of such a meeting.
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