Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov may be looking to bring China into the ongoing negotiations as NATO leaders and Ukrainian officials convene this week to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv.
Lavrov suggested that Moscow was only interested in “truly reliable” guarantees for Ukraine, which he argued should be based on a 2022 draft accord that was discussed by Ukrainian and Russian negotiators during the early days of the war.
But the proposal never came to fruition due to a major sticking point for Kyiv, which argued that the plan gave Moscow too much power over its security.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. August 15, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
“China stands ready to, in light of the will of the parties concerned and together with the rest of the international community, continue playing a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis,” Liu added.
Lavrov further accused NATO leaders of “unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the President of the United States personally” after they met with President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington, D.C.
Few details of the meetings have emerged as leaders from Europe, Ukraine and top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, look to establish security terms for Ukraine in an attempt to end the war.
Lavrov, who has long made controversial comments, described the Monday meetings as “a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation” and “rather clumsy.”
A European diplomat involved in coordinating security guarantees with the U.S. told Fox News that Lavrov’s comments have largely been dismissed by Washington and NATO allies, and have done nothing to derail progress.
“It’s noise,” the diplomat said. “Monday’s display of unity behind Ukraine has put [Russian President Vladimir] Putin on the back foot. These comments point to typical Russian game playing and untrustworthiness – at a time they would do well to engage seriously with President Trump’s push for peace.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during Russian-Laotian talks at the Kremlin on July 2025. (Contributor/Getty Images)
“Lavrov has long done this,” the official added.
The White House also told Fox News that comments coming from Russian officials are largely being ignored unless they come straight from Putin.
