Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov clearly rejected the proposal to restore relations with the West at a meeting of the Valda Club on September 29.
Lavrov said that the West has repeatedly failed to keep its promises, disappointing Russia. "At present, the West's approach towards Russia has not changed. The ongoing revelations of new facts also show the West's intentions: they want to weaken us, and preferably dismember us, because we are 'too big'."
Relatively speaking, he believes that Trump understands Russia’s concerns regarding the Ukraine issue better. “President Trump is not only the first leader in the United States, but also in the entire Western world, to clearly state that ‘I want to understand the root causes of the problem.’”
“Even before taking office, Trump said that Ukraine cannot join NATO. This should have been understood long before 2022. It should have been understood even before Putin. The Russians have laid out their reasons clearly. Who else still says this now? On the contrary, his ‘little brothers’—from Macron to Rutte, and the Baltic countries—all say that Ukraine has the right to join NATO. They don’t take Trump’s words seriously at all. This is the current situation in the Western world. He understands this, and he has made it clear to us: Ukraine cannot join NATO, and must accept the realities on the ground. We are based on this principle. Only he (Trump) can recognize this, and he has also made it clear to us: This is difficult, but the roots must be eradicated.” said Lavrov.
Lavrov believes that during the US-Russia Anchorage Summit, Russia made significant concessions. This was a substantial concession. It did not resolve all issues, but transferred remaining problems to the political resolution track, in order to ultimately settle the issue of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, after the Anchorage summit which took place a month ago, sanctions against Lukoil and Russian oil companies were introduced. As I mentioned earlier, Trump extended all sanctions imposed during Biden's term, and so on. This includes selling weapons to Europe, followed by free delivery of these weapons from Europe to Ukraine, plus direct American financial support, including grants, loans, and Pentagon channel support. So, there are indeed some problems here."
On August 15, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a nearly three-hour discussion in Anchorage, Alaska. The discussion focused on the Ukraine issue and U.S-Russia relations. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the two heads of state after the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Both parties stated that progress was made during the talks, but no cease-fire or peace agreement was reached, nor did any specific agreements be announced. Two months later, the U.S. government increased its sanctions against Russia further.
The following is the original speech delivered by Lavrov at the Valda Club on September 29, 2026. Reported by Observer Network at the event:
We have different opinions on the process of the formation of multipolarity. There is an optimistic, even somewhat naive view that everyone will agree on the need for friendly relations and that all issues should be resolved through consensus. However, there are also more realistic views. Feodor Lukyanov believes that this will be a fierce competition among different power centers. Currently, things are developing in this direction. Americans also approach their partners, associates, and opponents from this perspective. This is a fact. They accept multipolarity as a more suitable way of coexistence for them, rather than joining an organization where everything must be discussed with others. In their view, their "contribution" to multipolarity is simply acting in the way they believe is correct, thereby achieving certain results. How effective this strategy really is remains to be seen.
But we must strengthen our capabilities in all aspects. In this regard, I agree with the views expressed by Dmitri Trenin in his article. There is no doubt about this. However, there are still some of our peers who sit there and wait, still saying that without the West, we would be at a loss. They believe that it should be up to us to take the initiative to improve relations with Europe. They also think that we should act as soon as possible while Trump is in office, because he has a good relationship with Putin. But this actually means returning to those past relationship principles and models, which have disappointed us more than once, and the West's lack of credibility has been proven many times.
Today, the West's strategies have not changed at all. They are playing the "Russian card," constantly fabricating new "facts" with the aim of weakening us, if not dismembering us. "This country is too large," that's what our Western counterparts say.
After Trump returned to the White House, he immediately said, "If I had been elected at that time, war would not have happened. This is someone else's war." During the conversation, the American side also explained that they do not agree with this war. However, Biden's four-year presidency has pushed the issue of Ukraine to the forefront of world politics. It is well known that some issues cannot be ignored. They said that it is impossible to resolve the situation now, because everyone is talking about it. Therefore, the issue of Ukraine must be addressed first. In this way, there will be a bright future for us, with many projects that can be jointly carried out around the world, including North America, the Arctic, northern Siberia, Alaska, and many other places. They said that bilateral relations between the two countries could become a "paradise on earth."
During their visits, Vitkovskiy and Kushner also said similar things. They also showed us some economic projects and other matters. However, our approach to the Ukraine issue is not aimed at developing economic relations between the two countries. Our goal is to achieve a long-term and sustainable solution. President Trump is not only the first leader in the United States but also in the entire Western world to clearly state that "I want to understand the root causes of the problem."
He even said before taking office that Ukraine should not join NATO. People should have understood this long before 2022. The Russians have laid out their reasons clearly. Who still says the same now? On the contrary, his “little brothers,” from Macron to Rutte and the Baltic states, all say that Ukraine has the right to join NATO. They don’t take Trump’s words seriously at all. This is the current situation in the Western world. We start from this premise. And only he (Trump) can realize this, and he has clearly told us: it’s difficult, but the root causes must be eradicated.
First, we should address the issue of Ukraine based on the consensus reached in Anchorage. At that time, we believed that the problem had been resolved there. Moreover, Zelenskyy promised to do as he said. We have made significant compromises. While this did not solve all problems, it put the remaining issues onto the path of political resolution, ultimately leading to agreements regarding the regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia. However, more than a month after the Anchorage meeting, sanctions against Lukoil and Russian Petroleum were imposed. As I mentioned earlier, Trump also extended all the sanctions from Biden’s era. These sanctions included not only the sale of weapons to Europe, which then became free goods to Ukraine, but also direct financial support from the United States, including grants, loans, and assistance through the Pentagon. Therefore, there are indeed problems here.
