The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov gave an interview to American journalist and TV host Tucker Carlson. "Izvestia" collected the most striking quotes of the Foreign Minister.
On the conflict between Russia and the United States and the financing of Ukraine
I would not say that Russia and the US are at war today, officially we are not at war. And this is not what we want. We would like to have normal relations with all countries and especially with such a great country as the US. Vladimir Putin has repeatedly expressed his respect for the American people and their achievements. We see no reason why Russia and the United States cannot cooperate.
What is happening in Ukraine is what some call hybrid warfare. I would call it that, too, since the Ukrainians obviously could not handle long-range weapons without the direct involvement of U.S. troops. There's no question it's dangerous.
On the threat of nuclear war and the defense of Donbass
We don't want to aggravate the situation, but against the backdrop of ATACMS and other missile strikes on Russia, we are sending signals. And we hope that the Oreshnik tests were taken seriously. In his latest statement, Putin made it clear that we are prepared for any development, but prefer a negotiated peaceful settlement.
We also know that there are calls in the Pentagon and NATO to strike first for defense purposes. Here is Rear Admiral Thomas Buchanan saying that he allows for the possibility of exchanging limited nuclear strikes. This is a mistaken view, and it is troubling.
I will recall President Vladimir Putin's words that we did not start the war. On the contrary, we launched a special military operation to end the war that the Kiev regime unleashed against its people in Donbas. First they banned education in Russian and the work of Russian media there, then they stopped allowing any cultural events in Russian. Russian books are being destroyed. The last step was the law banning the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The U.S. and those who supply Kiev with long-range weapons must realize that we will be prepared to use any means to prevent the West from succeeding in inflicting a "strategic defeat" on us.
The Westerners are fighting to maintain their hegemony in the world, while we are fighting for our legitimate security interests and fighting for the people living on these lands.
The message the hypersonic system tests wanted to convey is: we will be prepared to do anything to protect our legitimate interests. We are not thinking of a war with the United States that could be nuclear in nature. Our military doctrine says that the most important thing is to avoid nuclear war.
But since some personalities in London and Brussels are not quite correct in their assessment of the situation, we are ready to send additional messages if conclusions are not reached.
We have no intention of destroying the Ukrainian people. They are brothers and sisters to the Russian people.
On solutions based on the UN Charter
In the West, they propose to end the conflict on the basis of the UN Charter and respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity, and Russia, they say, should leave. This is a wrong approach, because the Charter also speaks about the right of nations to self-determination.
The Crimeans rejected the 2014 coup d'état and said they wanted nothing to do with these people. The Donbass did the same. The Crimeans held a referendum and joined Russia, while the inhabitants of Donbass were declared terrorists and started a war against them.
It was stopped in February 2015 thanks to the Minsk agreements, which Kiev subsequently sabotaged. Later, the Kiev regime declared that it would never speak directly to the residents of Donbass. If not for the 2014 coup d'état, Ukraine would still be united and Crimea would be part of it.
By the way, the right of nations to self-determination was the basis of the decolonization process in Africa. People in the colonies never considered the "masters" as the ones they wanted to be in charge. Nor do the people of Donbass and Novorossiya see Zelensky 's regime as something that represents their interests.
Curiously, in the Ukrainian context, the West never brings up respect for human rights, although in any other conflict they demand their restoration.
On the exchange of people and closed channels of communication
The dialog with the U.S. through closed channels is conducted mainly on exchanges of people. There have been several such exchanges. Through other channels, the U.S., as well as publicly, repeats Zelensky's absolutely meaningless "peace formula" and his "victory plan".
Now Zelensky himself is talking about stopping along the contact line and Ukraine joining NATO, while Russia is still being offered to withdraw from this territory, leaving the Russian people at the mercy of the Nazi regime.
We also have a channel that automatically turns on when a ballistic missile is launched. The system also sent a message to the US 30 minutes before the test launch of the Nutshell. They knew it was coming and did not mistake it for something larger and truly dangerous.
On the U.S. role in the coup in Ukraine
For years, we have warned that NATO coming closer to our borders would create a problem.
The West rejected our proposal to conclude a treaty of security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine that Ukraine would never be a member of NATO.
When the coup d'état in Ukraine took place, the Americans made no secret of the fact that they were behind it. The dialog between US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and US Ambassador Payette in Kiev was recorded, where they discussed the new Kiev government and the $5 billion budget. This money was supposed to be a guarantee that everything in Ukraine would be the way the Americans wanted.
About the death toll
The Ukrainians won't disclose how many dead they have, but Zelensky said at least 80,000.
But there is another comparable figure. After Israel launched its operation in Palestine, the Palestinian civilian death toll for the year was 45,000. That's almost double the number of civilians killed on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict since 2014.
In Ukraine, a tragedy is taking place. In Palestine, there is a catastrophe.
We never set out to kill people. Unlike the Ukrainian regime, where officials have called for Russians to be destroyed legally or physically.
As for the dead Russian citizens, it is not in my competence to divulge this information. There are special rules during military operations, and the Ministry of Defense follows them.
About the Russian language
It is curious that in 2014, at concerts in Gorlovka and Donetsk, Zelensky zealously defended the Russian language and said that the residents of eastern Ukraine should be allowed to speak their native language. When he became president, he changed quickly.
In 2021, he called people on the other side of the contact line "individuals" and advised them to "go to Russia" for the future of their children and grandchildren.
On the possibility of cessation of hostilities
Russia has called several times, in 2014 and in 2017, at the level of agreement to allow parts of Donbass and Novorossiya to speak and study in Russian. First there were the Minsk agreements, which provided for the territorial integrity of Ukraine with the exception of Crimea. Several rounds. These agreements were sabotaged from the beginning and we were forced to launch a special military operation.
Then there are the Istanbul agreements in 2022. They stated that Ukraine would not join NATO in exchange for security guarantees. They were interrupted after the arrival of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
About Boris Johnson
I met him a couple of times. I would not be surprised if [in stopping the Istanbul agreements] he was guided by a momentary desire or some long-term strategy. He is not very predictable.
About what happened in Bucha
For some reason they never mention the massacre in Bucha again. Although I raised the question for two years whether it was possible to find out the names of the people whose bodies were shown on the BBC broadcast. In response, complete silence.
On Navalny's death*
There is also still no answer to the question of where are the results of German tests on the recently deceased Alexei Navalny (listed as a terrorist and extremist). Neither Germany nor the OPCW have shown them, although they have long claimed that Russia poisoned him.
Navalny died while serving time in Russia. It is known that he sometimes did not feel well. This is also why we are requesting tests from Berlin. I don't know what they did to him, but doctors need information to say something.
About the fate of Sergei Skripal
Also nothing is known about the fate of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, although according to conventions we have the right to get information.
About Trump and his promises of peace, NATO and Ukraine
Vladimir Putin spoke about the conditions for peace: we were ready to negotiate on the basis of the principles that were agreed in Istanbul and rejected by Boris Johnson and David Arahamiya.
The key principle is Ukraine's non-bloc status in exchange for collective security guarantees to Kiev. No NATO, military bases or exercises.
That was in 2022, time has passed since then. Realities on the ground will have to be taken into account. There are now four new republics within Russia.
On the possibility of lifting sanctions
Many people in Russia would like to make the lifting of sanctions a condition of negotiations. I believe that we should count on ourselves. Sanctions make us stronger. We have learned a lot, we are developing platforms for cooperation with normal countries that do not mix economics and politics.
On Russia's turn to the East
Speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club, the president said that we will never return to 2022, and that all attempts to be on an equal footing with the West have failed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a plenary session at the 19th annual meeting of the Valdai international discussion club
Pro-Western as well as pro-West is, in principle, not bad. It is bad when you tell people: either you are with me or you are my enemy.
On promises to Georgia and Ukraine to be admitted to NATO
In 2008, at the NATO summit in Bucharest, it was announced that Georgia and Ukraine would join the alliance. It was explained to Vladimir Putin that these statements did not commit to anything, it was a slogan. However, the result was that President Saakashvili launched a war against his own people on the ground.
It took Ukraine longer to cultivate pro-Western sentiments.
On the neighborhood with China and Europe
With China, we are neighbors. Geography is very important.
Western Europe wants to approach our borders through Ukraine, to place British naval bases on the Sea of Azov. We had friendly relations with Finland, but overnight the Finns returned to the times when they were Hitler's allies.
On who in Ukraine to negotiate with
Vladimir Putin has repeatedly reminded that it was Zelensky who banned any negotiations with Russia. And Russia is ready to negotiate if the balance of interests is taken into account.
Instead, Zelensky came up with first a "peace formula" and then a "victory plan".
But they know our position. We are not playing a double game. Our position is legitimate: no NATO on our doorstep. The OSCE has agreed that it should not be there if it harms us. And don't forget about restoring the rights of Russians.
On the talks between Russian and American diplomats
The last time I communicated with U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was in 2021. Today it's toxic if someone sees an American or a European talking to me. Europeans in general run away when they see me, for example during the last G20 summit.
On the legacy of Obama and Biden
Obviously, the Joe Biden administration would like to leave such a "legacy" to the Donald Trump administration, as Obama once did when he expelled 120 Russian diplomats and seized Russian diplomatic property.
Historically, U.S. foreign policy has tended to create some problems and then see if it can catch fish in troubled waters. A pattern can be seen in U.S. foreign policy adventures. First they create problems and then look at how to exploit them.
On the situation in Syria
When the crisis in Syria broke out, we organized the Astana format with the participation of Russia, Turkey and Iran. We meet regularly and plan to discuss the situation on the ground again.
We need to help the Syrians come to an agreement with each other and prevent the intensification of separatist threats.
On terrorist Islamist groups
We have information about who is supporting them. We would like to discuss this with all partners and cut off the channels of funding and arms. The information in the public domain mentions the Americans and the British in particular. Some say Israel is also interested.
On the attitude toward Trump
I've seen him several times. I think he's a strong man who wants results and doesn't like to put things off. It doesn't mean that Trump is pro-Russian, he has imposed a lot of anti-Russian sanctions.
We respect any choice of voting Americans and are open for contacts.
On NATO activities
Americans say they can't let Russia win in Ukraine because it would undermine the "rules-based world order."
NATO under Biden has looked after all of Eurasia, created AUKUS, and is forming an "Indo-Pacific Quartet." This element of "preventive action" is increasingly present.
On nuclear exchange
When U.S. policymakers suggest that there could be a nuclear exchange that would not directly affect the U.S., it is not true.
Nuclear deterrence policy professionals know full well that this is a very dangerous game. And talk of a limited nuclear exchange is an invitation to a catastrophe we don't want.
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