ST. PETERSBURG, June 5. /TASS/. A vicious circle is observed in the dialogue with the United States on the Ukrainian settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Izvestia.
He noted that the West has always openly nurtured the dangerous undertaking of suppressing and dismembering Russia.
TASS has compiled the key statements of the top Russian diplomat.
Western ambitions
The West has always openly nurtured the dangerous undertaking of suppressing and dismembering Russia: “The West has never hidden that it wants to deprive our neighbors of the benefits of cooperation with Russia and wants them to pay the price of the gamble that the West has always nurtured and continues to nurture, meaning the suppression, and even better, the dismemberment of Russia.”
Russia’s position in international arena
Achieving the goals of the special military operation “would significantly strengthen” Russia’s position in the international arena.
Relations with US
Full normalization of relations between Russia and the United States should include the presence of the American ambassador: “This is an American decision (the absence of an ambassador – TASS). Any country has the right to determine the level of its diplomatic representation in foreign countries. If it’s convenient for them. Of course, full normalization should include a full-fledged head of the diplomatic mission, the ambassador.”
The United States has left unanswered a proposal to lift sanctions against parliamentarians of the two countries: “I’ve reminded them a couple of times, but there’s no reaction to it.”
Moscow does not object to the fact that the US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and entrepreneur Jared Kushner, while conducting dialogue with Russia, are also dealing with other agendas, including various settlement issues: “The main thing is that what you talk about, what you agree upon, gets done.”
Special envoy of the US President Steve Witkoff and businessman Jared Kushner are sincerely interested in normalizing relations with Russia, but this has not materialized yet: “We appreciate that the negotiators, Messrs. Witkoff and Kushner, have very kind feelings for our country. As far as we can judge from their statements, they are sincerely interested in normalizing these relations, but their interests have not materialized yet.”
Ukrainian settlement
A vicious circle is observed in the dialogue with the United States on the Ukrainian settlement: “And we’re walking in this circle.”
Russia notes no progress in the settlement around Ukraine almost a year after the Anchorage summit and no desire to convince the Kiev regime to accept Washington’s proposals: “On August 15, it will be one year since the Alaska summit was held to consider American proposals on Ukraine. The Russian leadership accepted these proposals. And since then, we have not seen any progress, no desire to convince Ukraine to accept these American proposals.”
Europe will not support “any settlement that in any way removes the Nazi regime of Vladimir Zelensky or whoever may replace him in the future from its control.”
Europeans do not hide the Russophobic subtext of the entire enterprise of dragging Ukraine into the EU: “They want to start these negotiation processes with the Ukrainians almost this or next [week], ignoring the grossest violation of the UN Charter and the Convention on the Rights of National Minorities. That is, the Russophobic subtext of this entire action of dragging Ukraine into the European Union is not even hidden.”
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s statements about Ukraine’s future in NATO are motivated by the desire to show that Europe will call the tune: “NATO Secretary General Rutte said in Kiev that Ukraine will be a member of NATO. In other words, Europe wants to prove that it will call the shots, that it will not abandon its support for the Nazi regime. It is to this regime that Europe promises security guarantees when the fighting ends.”
The United States is the only state that has recognized “the need to eliminate the root cause of the Ukrainian crisis: Russia’s security problems through Ukraine’s involvement in NATO.”
So far, the US has not shown any intention to consolidate the agreements on Ukraine with Kiev’s participation and “convince Europe not to interfere.”
US policy
The foreign policy actions of the United States “do not fit into any international legal framework.”
After the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by the United States, it immediately became clear that their goal was getting the country’s oil; “the Americans did not hide this.”
Before the midterm congressional elections in November 2026: “I do not rule out that before the midterm congressional elections in November this year, there may be another very dangerous movement on the part of Washington in an effort to prove the success of the Republican administration’s actions – this will be unfortunate.”
The statements of some American politicians who justify their actions with the Old Testament should not be taken seriously: “This is a dubious interpretation, and I don’t think it’s serious for politicians to say such things. This can only mean one thing – that there are no other arguments left to explain their actions. Actions that have not attracted support anywhere, including the United States itself.”
Situation around Armenia
The Armenian leadership “put the issue squarely” by adopting the law on the country’s movement to the EU and now must “bear responsibility for its words.”
Middle East
The United States is uncomfortable with the situation with Iran and does not know how to get out of it, although initially they had “brave ambition.”
Russia supports the efforts to conduct at least “some sort” of dialogue between the United States and Iran.
Policy of Georgia
The current leadership of Georgia are pragmatists who understand the negative consequences of the country’s accession to the European Union: “The current Georgian leadership is pragmatic; they confirm their course towards the European Union, but they understand that then they will have to stop being a country that is famous for its produce.”
