Summary

Russia refuses to stop attacking Ukraine during peace negotiations, Lavrov says Moscow will not pause the full-scale invasion of Ukraine while conducting negotiations for a peace settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sept. 12. Lavrov's comments come the same day that President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be willing to meet face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin for peace talks at the G20 leaders' summit in Miami in December. Speaking to the Russian news outlet Vesti, Lavrov claimed the Kremlin was open to talks — while pouring cold water on the idea of a ceasefire or a Putin-Zelensky summit in Miami. "We are still ready for negotiations, but the (war against Ukraine) will not be stopped during this period," Lavrov said. "We have already had this experience and have drawn conclusions," he added, perhaps referring to the previous periods of brief, limited truces that Russian forces nonetheless violated. Regarding Zelensky's invitation to meet Putin at the G20, Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin's standard excuse: insisting the leaders can only meet in Moscow. "On this matter, I believe (Kremlin Spokesperson) Dmitry Peskov has already spoken. An invitation was sent to (Zelensky). If he wants to meet, then he should come," Lavrov said. read also After refusing even a temporary ceasefire or a leader-level meeting in a noncombatant country, Lavrov went on to emphasize the level of "goodwill" Moscow was displaying in the peace process. "This is already a huge gesture of goodwill on our part, because (Zelensky) has not yet canceled his decree banning contacts with Putin and his team," Lavrov claimed. "So, we are not lacking in goodwill, while he, it seems, lacks good intentions." Zelensky and Putin have not met in person since before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. While Zelensky has expressed willingness to sit down with Putin on a number of occasions, he has ruled out Moscow as a venue for peace talks. He has not, however, demanded the Russian president visit Ukraine. Instead, Zelensky has repeatedly proposed meeting in a third country — a proposal the Kremlin has consistently denied. Kyiv has also insisted that negotiations take place during a cessation of hostilities, and has said it is willing to uphold an unconditional ceasefire if Russia is willing to do the same. Lavrov and Zelensky's comments follow a renewed U.S.-led effort to resume negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visited both capitals for separate talks with the Russian and Ukrainian governments in September, though the discussions did not produce a breakthrough. At the end of the latest round of talks, the U.S. envoys said they hoped to resume trilateral negotiations with all parties present. Zelensky has affirmed the need for trilateral talks, and the Kremlin has said it isn't ruling out this format — though no future talks have been announced.