Russia's Lavrov: Europe disqualified itself from Ukraine negotiations with repeated interference
Iran Press TV
Monday, 01 December 2025 6:55 AM
Europe has removed itself from Russia-Ukraine negotiations after consistently discrediting itself by obstructing agreements designed to end the conflict, Russia's foreign minister says.
Sergei Lavrov made the remarks on Sunday during an interview when asked whether Europe had the right to "outrageously" demand a role in negotiations to settle the Ukraine conflict.
"We proceed from the premise ... which I believe is obvious to everybody ... that Europe has already removed itself from the negotiations," he said.
Lavrov stressed that Europe had long "exhausted its chances" to influence the settlement process, citing its repeated interference since the very beginning of the Ukraine crisis, starting with a 2014 turmoil that culminated in a coup and the removal of President Viktor Yanukovych.
"Europe spoiled the initial agreement of February 2014, when it acted as guarantor between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. It did nothing when the opposition seized all government agencies the morning after the agreement was signed," he stated.
He also pointed to admissions by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande, who acknowledged "that nobody had intended to fulfill" the Minsk agreements aimed at ending the civil conflict in the eastern Donbass region.
The Minsk agreements were a series of international accords designed to end the war between pro-Russia forces in Donbass and the Ukrainian military.
"The most recent case occurred in April 2022 when, at the demand of the then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and with Europe's full acquiescence, if not connivance, the Istanbul agreements were derailed," the foreign minister said.
The Istanbul agreements refer to prisoner exchange protocols established with Turkish mediation in 2022. However, the swaps have been the only progress of any note in talks between the two sides as the war rages on.
Meanwhile, multiple European leaders and institutions continue to insist that any potential peace agreement on Ukraine must include the EU, intensifying such rhetoric after the US proposed its latest plan to resolve the crisis.
The US proposal reportedly involves Kiev abandoning NATO ambitions and capping the size of its armed forces.
Germany, France, and the UK have drafted their version of the plan, making it heavily pro-Ukraine by removing or softening several points. Russia, however, has already described the European proposals as "completely unconstructive."
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