New York (GNP): Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is prepared to negotiate a sustainable and just peace settlement for Ukraine but will not halt military operations during any negotiation process, telling a UN Security Council session that this position stems from past experience.
Addressing the Council, Lavrov argued that had the 2015 Minsk agreements — reaffirmed in Paris in 2019 under President Zelensky — been properly implemented as required by the Security Council, Ukraine would still hold its 1991 borders except for Crimea, a matter he characterized as long since settled.
He claimed that Russia’s December 2021 proposals, aimed at reaching an agreement based on mutual security considerations for Russia, Europe, and North America, were dismissed by NATO and the Biden administration. According to Lavrov, preparations were underway at the time for Kyiv to retake Donbas territories by force, which he said prompted Russia to launch its military operation in February 2022. He noted that Ukraine requested negotiations roughly a week later, which Russia accepted.
Lavrov said that following several rounds of talks in Belarus and Istanbul, Ukrainian negotiators proposed core settlement principles that Russian negotiators accepted — including provisions establishing Ukraine’s neutral status, acknowledging territorial realities, and offering collective security guarantees against future conflict. He said this document was initialed by both delegations but was never finalized, adding that had it been formalized and implemented, Ukraine would have retained its 1991 borders minus Crimea and part of Donbas.
He reiterated that Russia, as President Vladimir Putin has stated repeatedly, remains open to negotiations aimed at achieving such a lasting and just peace, referencing Putin’s June 2024 address as outlining the necessary steps to reach this goal. However, Lavrov stressed that based on past experience, Russia will not pause its military operation for the duration of any talks, regardless of format — a demand he said Europe continues to push in order to give Ukrainian forces time to regroup and rearm.
Lavrov also made pointed remarks referencing recent geopolitical debates involving Greenland, sarcastically contrasting it with Crimea and Donbas, and suggested he was curious how UN officials might respond to hypothetical questions about the political status of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. He expressed hope that the next UN Secretary-General would ensure that Secretariat officials’ statements align more closely with international law.
He further argued that the UN’s Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning friendly relations among states ties the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity to governments that respect self-determination and represent all people within a territory without discrimination.
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Lavrov contended that the government in Kyiv could not be considered representative of the populations in Crimea, Donbas, and what Russia refers to as Novorossiya, claiming Ukrainian officials have repeatedly used dehumanizing language to describe these communities.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
