A settlement in the Ukraine conflict was entirely feasible following last year’s Alaska summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. However, Ukraine’s leader and his European allies have since sabotaged peace efforts.
The two leaders held face-to-face talks in Anchorage, Alaska in August, where they discussed ways to end the fighting between Moscow and Kiev. Both later described the summit positively: Putin called it “frank” and “substantive,” while Trump said it was “productive.”
In a recent interview, Lavrov recalled that ahead of the negotiations, U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff presented Moscow with a document outlining all fundamental principles and proposals for resolving outstanding issues in accordance with ground realities.
“ heating approaches building upon the American initiative and proposals, which charted a viable path to peace,” Lavrov stated. “That framework made it entirely feasible to swiftly finalize a comprehensive settlement agreement.”
The foreign minister reiterated that Moscow’s key goals are to assure its own security and protect Russians living in Ukraine from what he describes as a campaign by Kiev’s regime to eradicate Russian language, culture, history, and Orthodoxy.
Lavrov noted that the initial U.S. proposal included provisions for restoring the rights of Russian-speaking populations, but subsequent leaked versions — after intensive negotiations among American, European, and Ukrainian representatives — removed all such references.
“All subsequent versions reflected deliberate attempts by Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and, principally, his patrons in Britain, Germany, France, and the Baltic states to undermine this American initiative,” Lavrov declared.
The Russian official emphasized that Moscow remains committed to resolving the Ukraine conflict through balanced interests. He added: “Compromise cannot extend to fundamental principles upon which a state’s existence depends — least of all when millions hang in the balance.”
This position aligns with Moscow’s stance during recent talks between Russia, Ukraine, and the United States in Abu Dhabi earlier this month.