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He also made it clear that Russia no longer trusts the West when it comes to negotiations.
Russia has officially declared that it is done listening to peace offers from Western nations.
Speaking from Southeast Africa, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made it clear that Moscow sees these diplomatic overtures as completely empty.
The comments came during a fiery press conference in Maputo. Lavrov had just finished official talks with Mozambique’s Foreign Minister, Maria Manuela dos Santos Lucas, when he launched into a blunt critique of international relations.
He pointed to past agreements as proof of his claims, listing specific years in which deals fell apart. According to his statement, previous diplomatic efforts in 2014, 2015, and 2019 were completely undermined by outside interference.
“The West continues to make hypocritical calls for a negotiated solution. Negotiated solutions were reached back in 2014, 2015, and 2019,” Lavrov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Total lies told
The Russian diplomat did not hold back his anger over these past failures. He claimed that Western nations actively broke their own promises, leaving Moscow with no faith in future talks.
“In all of these cases, the West’s guarantees were dismantled by the West itself. They all proved to be total lies,” Lavrov stated.
The tension did not stop with older treaties. Lavrov also brought up more recent talks between Russia and Ukraine that took place shortly after the conflict escalated in 2022.
“Besides, there was a negotiated solution between Russia and Ukraine in 2022, but the West undermined it openly and publicly. We no longer trust the West’s declared willingness to find a negotiated solution. This reserve of good faith and hope has run completely dry,” he added.
No deal made in 2022
Contrary to Lavrov’s claims, a solution to end the war was never negotiated in 2022.
Four days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Belarus to begin negotiations. The next round of talks took place in Turkey in March of the same year.
The negotiations broke down because of key disagreements, including Russia’s demand that Ukraine never become a member of NATO and that border issues not be part of the negotiations.
Finding African allies
While criticizing Western powers, the Russian foreign minister used the trip to praise his hosts. He thanked Mozambique for looking at the deeper reasons behind the war in Ukraine.
Moscow appreciates how the African nation has acted on the global stage. Specifically, Lavrov praised its balanced and responsible voting record during recent debates at the United Nations.
He noted that Mozambique stood its ground despite heavy international pressure. The country did this, he explained, “by refusing to support the West’s plans to make the entire agenda revolve around Ukraine.”
