Russia does not intend to halt its military operation in Ukraine even if negotiations with Kyiv resume, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Lavrov said Russia was not short on goodwill and remained ready for talks, but stressed that the special military operation would not be stopped for the duration of any negotiations.
He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should travel to Moscow if he wants to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lavrov described this as a major gesture of goodwill on Russia's part, noting that Zelensky has not rescinded a decree ruling out negotiations with Putin. Zelensky signed that decree in 2022, shortly after Russia annexed four partially occupied Ukrainian regions.
Lavrov said Zelensky is always free to come to Moscow if he wants a meeting, adding that Zelensky travels constantly and is rarely at home, while Russia has its own business to attend to at home.
An analyst's view
Oleg Glazunov, an associate professor in the political analysis department at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told the news outlet Lenta.ru that Lavrov's invitation reflected an old-school diplomatic approach, but that Zelensky would never accept it.
Glazunov said Zelensky is a wartime president who benefits financially from the conflict and therefore has no interest in ending it. He said that traveling to Moscow would effectively finish Zelensky politically, arguing that Ukrainian nationalists would never forgive him for what they would see as bowing to Russia, making the idea unacceptable to Zelensky.
Zelensky's position on talks
Zelensky himself has said it is impossible to resume negotiations with Moscow before Russia's parliamentary elections, scheduled for September 18 to 20, 2026, are completed.
He said he may meet with the American negotiating team in New York as early as late September, and that he hoped to be able to speak more openly about the situation after a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
Lavrov on the timeline of the conflict
Lavrov has previously said the timeline for ending the military operation depends largely on how sound the advice is that Western countries give Ukraine. He said Russia had so far heard no sensible advice, only calls and demands for more Ukrainians to be sent into the fighting.
The foreign minister recalled Putin's earlier comments on the difficulty of forecasting when the fighting will end, and pointed to what he described as the gradual advance of Russia's armed forces. He said the West and Kyiv currently appear intent only on prolonging the conflict, despite the state of Ukraine's economy.
Warning over Ukraine's future
Lavrov also warned that Europe hopes to preserve what he called a russophobic government in Ukraine once the military operation ends. He said the current Ukrainian authorities are characterized by violations of people's rights to choose their own language and religion.
He said that once the active military phase of the conflict is over, these so-called European values would be consolidated in Kyiv.
