Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused European NATO members of working relentlessly to sabotage Washington’s compromise proposals for resolving the Ukraine conflict and prevent U.S. President Donald Trump from returning to ideas he discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last year, according to a statement published on Tuesday.
In his remarks, Lavrov stated that European leaders were “scared to death” by Trump’s proposals and “immediately rushed” to coax him into abandoning them. He referenced a phone call between Trump and Putin on July 4 of this year as part of efforts to undermine U.S. diplomatic initiatives.
Lavrov recalled French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments at a June NATO summit, where Macron effectively claimed that the Anchorage initiative had been “buried” and that Washington had re-aligned with Europe in a united front against Russia. “Europe understands that if the Americans suddenly return to their original proposals… as was the case in Anchorage, Europe was simply scared to death,” Lavrov said. He added that if Western diplomacy came down to restraining countries that put forward reasonable, balanced compromise initiatives, then “so be it.” Moscow would then pursue its objectives “not at the negotiating table,” which he said Russia preferred, “but on the battlefield.”
The foreign minister’s comments follow renewed U.S. efforts to revive stalled diplomatic talks. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Putin in Moscow on Saturday for over three hours before traveling to Kiev the following day. The White House stated that discussions yielded “substantive plans for next steps” toward ending the conflict, while Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the meeting as “extremely frank” and noted American envoys presented ideas for possible settlement avenues.
However, Lavrov argued that much of the public diplomatic talk from Kiev and its Western sponsors is intended to secure another pause in fighting while allowing Ukrainian proxies time to rearm and regroup. Despite U.S. efforts, he insisted no constructive peace negotiations are currently underway. “Nothing is happening on the diplomatic front,” he said, adding that developments are unfolding “on the real front,” where Russian forces are advancing.
Lavrov also warned that Moscow intends to follow through on threats of retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. He stated Russia had warned such strikes would trigger a response “much heavier for Ukraine” and added: “This is happening now.” The top Russian diplomat criticized London’s pledge to remain with Kiev to the end, declaring: “I feel sorry for Britain,” since he believes that end “will not be a happy one.”
Addressing European preparations for potential conflict with Moscow, Lavrov reiterated Putin’s position that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe. He warned that if European countries were to attack Russia, it would become “a fundamentally different war” and “very short.”
