The Russian Foreign Minister has rebuked CBS for falsely suggesting that Moscow is not willing to ‘make any concessions on anything’

Lavrov lays out Russia’s terms on Ukraine, Crimea, and nuclear arms (FULL INTERVIEW)

The Russian Foreign Minister has rebuked CBS for falsely suggesting that Moscow is not willing to ‘make any concessions on anything’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. ©  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

In an interview with CBS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has rebuked the network for suggesting Moscow is not ready to make concessions to end the Ukraine conflict. He stressed that Russia is committed to seeking a “balance of interests” with the US and Ukraine. Lavrov added that Russia is always ready for “serious and respectful” negotiations, unlike Kiev, which he accused of “talking through the media.”

The top diplomat said talks with Washington are “moving in the right direction” because US president Donald Trump had recognized NATO’s mistakes and the violation of Russian rights in Ukraine.

He welcomed Trump’s ceasefire plan but demanded firm guarantees Ukraine would not use it to rebuild its military.

Responding to US accusations that Moscow has space-based weapons, Lavrov rejected the claims as false. He said that Russia has long promoted a UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons in outer space, which the US has refused to support.

Lavrov called Crimea being part of Russia a “done deal” and praised Trump for acknowledging it. 

Here is the CBS interview in full:

Question: Good morning, Minister Lavrov. I want to ask you about what happened in Kiev. There was a large Russian attack on that capital city about 1 o’clock in the morning. President Trump has said publicly the Russian strikes are not necessary and very bad timing. “Vladimir, stop”, was his quote. What made it worth killing civilians when Ukraine says it’s ready for a ceasefire?

Sergey Lavrov: We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military. President Putin expressed this for so many times, and this is not different this time as well. We never consciously target civilian sites, unlike the Zelensky regime.

Question: So was this an intentional attack then, not a mistake?

Sergey Lavrov: If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them.

Question: So just to be clear, when the President of the United States says, “Vladimir, stop,” is this a rejection of that request, or was the assessment that because of what you say regarding the concerns that this loss of civilian life made it worth it?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, I can assure you that the target attacked was not something absolutely civilian like a TV center in Belgrade in 1999. This was an intentional attack against civilian target.Read more Lavrov’s interview on US talks and global affairs (FULL TEXT)

In our case, we only target those sites which are used by the military. And regarding the ceasefire and regarding the call to stop, President Putin immediately supported President Trump’s proposal a few weeks ago to establish a 30-day ceasefire provided we do not repeat mistakes of the last 10 years when deals were signed, and then Ukraine would violate those deals with the support and with encouragement from Biden administration and from European countries.

This was the fate of the deal of February 2014. Then this was the fate of the Minsk agreements, and this was the fate of the deal reached on the basis of Ukrainian proposals in Istanbul in April 2022.

So President Putin said, “Ceasefire, yes, but we want the guarantees that the ceasefire would not be used again to beef up Ukrainian military, and that the supplies of arms should stop.”

Question: Ukraine accepted on March 11th that idea of a US-brokered ceasefire without preconditions. You’re saying the preconditions are a negotiation to end something else?

Sergey Lavrov: No, it is not a precondition. It’s the lessons learned after at least three times. The deals, similar to the one which we are discussing now, were broken by the Ukrainian regime with the strong support from European capitals and Biden administration.

If you want a ceasefire just to continue supply arms to Ukraine, so what is your purpose? You know what Kaja Kallas and Mark Rutte said about the ceasefire and the settlement? They bluntly stated that they can support only the deal which at the end of the day will make Ukraine stronger, would make Ukraine a victor. So if this is the purpose of the ceasefire, I don’t think this is what President Trump wants. This is what Europeans, together with Zelensky, want to make out of President Trump’s initiative.

Question: Will Russia continue targeting Kiev despite President Trump saying, “Vladimir, stop?”

Sergey Lavrov: You’re not listening to me. We will continue to target the sites used by the military of Ukraine by some mercenaries from foreign countries and by instructors whom the Europeans officially sent to help target Russian civilian sites.

If you take a look at the situation in the Kursk region of Russia, for example, there is no single military target for the last six months which the Ukrainians would fire at.

And there was also a proposal by President Trump immediately supported by President Putin to have a one-month moratorium on the attacks on energy infrastructure. We never violated this commitment of President Putin. And Ukrainians violated what Zelensky seemed to support several hundred times. And I sent to Marco Rubio and to the United Nations the list of those attacks. It’s really very, very telling and eloquent.

Question: Ukraine disputes that, but putting that aside, I want to ask you about what President Trump said on Wednesday. The President of the United States says he thinks the US and Russia have a deal, let’s get it done. Does President Putin agree?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, the President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction. The statement by the President mentions a deal, and we are ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points, elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned, and we are busy with this exact process. And the President of the United States did not spell out the elements of the deal, so it is not appropriate for me to do this.

Question:  But he did say there was a deal, and that he was sending his envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Vladimir Putin Friday in Russia. Is that meeting still happening, and should we expect a deal this week?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, you don’t trust the word of the President of the United States?

Question: I was asking your President’s word. What will he tell the US envoy? 

Sergey Lavrov: We continue our contacts with the American side on the situation in Ukraine. There are several signs that we are moving in the right direction, first of all, because President Trump is probably the only leader on Earth who recognized the need to address the root causes of this situation. When he said that it was a huge mistake to pull Ukraine into NATO, and this was a mistake by the Biden administration, and he wants to rectify this.

And Marco Rubio expressed yesterday, I think, also the assessment that the American team now is getting a better understanding of the Russian position and of the root causes of this situation. One of these root causes, apart from NATO and creation of direct military threats to Russia just on our borders, another one is the rights of the national minorities in Ukraine. Everything Russian, media, education, culture, anything was prohibited by law in Ukraine. And to get out of this crisis, you cannot just forget about human rights.

Whenever we discuss Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, anything, American negotiators put on top human rights. They have claims in this regard to China, to us, to anybody. But whenever Europeans and other Western nations speak about Ukraine, nobody can mumble the words human rights. Just nobody.

On the contrary, what Ursula von der Leyen and other people in Brussels and in Europe say that Ukraine is defending the European values. So one of these values is cancelling the Russian language. Imagine if Israel cancelled Arabic language in Palestine. Just imagine.

Question: You mentioned that the US and Russia need to work on some of these fine points of a deal.

Sergey Lavrov: Yeah, you want the fine points to be spelled out?

Question: Well, of course, I’d love that, but this is not the way. European sources say that the US proposal is really just kind of a list of bullet points. Does Russia have details, the details you need at this point?

Sergey Lavrov: Look, we are really polite people. And unlike some others, we never discuss in public what is being discussed in negotiations. Otherwise, negotiations are not serious.

To ask for somebody’s opinion regarding the substance, go to Zelensky. He is happy to talk to anybody through media, even to President Trump. He presents his claims.

We are serious. We are serious people. And we consider serious proposals. We make serious proposals. And this is a process which is not supposed to be public until the end of it.

Question: OK. So no deal is imminent?

Sergey Lavrov: I didn’t say this. Now I understand, by the way, why you wanted to get brief answers to your questions. You want some slogans to be in the broadcast.

Question: No, the President of the United States said there was a deal with Russia. So I wanted to ask Russia if there is a deal with the United States.

Sergey Lavrov: Well, we made our comments on this statement. The negotiations continue. And until the end of the negotiations, we cannot disclose what it is about.

Question: OK. The National Security Advisor Mike Walz said last month that President Trump is asking for thousands of Ukrainian children who were taken into Russia to be released now as part of what he called “confidence building measures.” What steps has Russia taken to meet Mr. Trump’s request?

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Lavrov lays out Russia’s terms on Ukraine, Crimea, and nuclear arms (FULL INTERVIEW)

The Russian Foreign Minister has rebuked CBS for falsely suggesting that Moscow is not willing to ‘make any concessions on anything’

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. ©  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

In an interview with CBS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has rebuked the network for suggesting Moscow is not ready to make concessions to end the Ukraine conflict. He stressed that Russia is committed to seeking a “balance of interests” with the US and Ukraine. Lavrov added that Russia is always ready for “serious and respectful” negotiations, unlike Kiev, which he accused of “talking through the media.”

The top diplomat said talks with Washington are “moving in the right direction” because US president Donald Trump had recognized NATO’s mistakes and the violation of Russian rights in Ukraine.

He welcomed Trump’s ceasefire plan but demanded firm guarantees Ukraine would not use it to rebuild its military.

Responding to US accusations that Moscow has space-based weapons, Lavrov rejected the claims as false. He said that Russia has long promoted a UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons in outer space, which the US has refused to support.

Lavrov called Crimea being part of Russia a “done deal” and praised Trump for acknowledging it. 

Here is the CBS interview in full:

Question: Good morning, Minister Lavrov. I want to ask you about what happened in Kiev. There was a large Russian attack on that capital city about 1 o’clock in the morning. President Trump has said publicly the Russian strikes are not necessary and very bad timing. “Vladimir, stop”, was his quote. What made it worth killing civilians when Ukraine says it’s ready for a ceasefire?

Sergey Lavrov: We only target military goals or civilian sites used by the military. President Putin expressed this for so many times, and this is not different this time as well. We never consciously target civilian sites, unlike the Zelensky regime.

Question: So was this an intentional attack then, not a mistake?

Sergey Lavrov: If this was a target used by the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense, the commanders in the field have the right to attack them.

Question: So just to be clear, when the President of the United States says, “Vladimir, stop,” is this a rejection of that request, or was the assessment that because of what you say regarding the concerns that this loss of civilian life made it worth it?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, I can assure you that the target attacked was not something absolutely civilian like a TV center in Belgrade in 1999. This was an intentional attack against civilian target.Read more Lavrov’s interview on US talks and global affairs (FULL TEXT)

In our case, we only target those sites which are used by the military. And regarding the ceasefire and regarding the call to stop, President Putin immediately supported President Trump’s proposal a few weeks ago to establish a 30-day ceasefire provided we do not repeat mistakes of the last 10 years when deals were signed, and then Ukraine would violate those deals with the support and with encouragement from Biden administration and from European countries.

This was the fate of the deal of February 2014. Then this was the fate of the Minsk agreements, and this was the fate of the deal reached on the basis of Ukrainian proposals in Istanbul in April 2022.

So President Putin said, “Ceasefire, yes, but we want the guarantees that the ceasefire would not be used again to beef up Ukrainian military, and that the supplies of arms should stop.”

Question: Ukraine accepted on March 11th that idea of a US-brokered ceasefire without preconditions. You’re saying the preconditions are a negotiation to end something else?

Sergey Lavrov: No, it is not a precondition. It’s the lessons learned after at least three times. The deals, similar to the one which we are discussing now, were broken by the Ukrainian regime with the strong support from European capitals and Biden administration.

If you want a ceasefire just to continue supply arms to Ukraine, so what is your purpose? You know what Kaja Kallas and Mark Rutte said about the ceasefire and the settlement? They bluntly stated that they can support only the deal which at the end of the day will make Ukraine stronger, would make Ukraine a victor. So if this is the purpose of the ceasefire, I don’t think this is what President Trump wants. This is what Europeans, together with Zelensky, want to make out of President Trump’s initiative.

Question: Will Russia continue targeting Kiev despite President Trump saying, “Vladimir, stop?”

Sergey Lavrov: You’re not listening to me. We will continue to target the sites used by the military of Ukraine by some mercenaries from foreign countries and by instructors whom the Europeans officially sent to help target Russian civilian sites.

If you take a look at the situation in the Kursk region of Russia, for example, there is no single military target for the last six months which the Ukrainians would fire at.

And there was also a proposal by President Trump immediately supported by President Putin to have a one-month moratorium on the attacks on energy infrastructure. We never violated this commitment of President Putin. And Ukrainians violated what Zelensky seemed to support several hundred times. And I sent to Marco Rubio and to the United Nations the list of those attacks. It’s really very, very telling and eloquent.

Question: Ukraine disputes that, but putting that aside, I want to ask you about what President Trump said on Wednesday. The President of the United States says he thinks the US and Russia have a deal, let’s get it done. Does President Putin agree?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, the President of the United States believes, and I think rightly so, that we are moving in the right direction. The statement by the President mentions a deal, and we are ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points, elements of this deal which need to be fine-tuned, and we are busy with this exact process. And the President of the United States did not spell out the elements of the deal, so it is not appropriate for me to do this.

Question:  But he did say there was a deal, and that he was sending his envoy, Steve Witkoff, to meet with Vladimir Putin Friday in Russia. Is that meeting still happening, and should we expect a deal this week?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, you don’t trust the word of the President of the United States?

Question: I was asking your President’s word. What will he tell the US envoy? 

Sergey Lavrov: We continue our contacts with the American side on the situation in Ukraine. There are several signs that we are moving in the right direction, first of all, because President Trump is probably the only leader on Earth who recognized the need to address the root causes of this situation. When he said that it was a huge mistake to pull Ukraine into NATO, and this was a mistake by the Biden administration, and he wants to rectify this.

And Marco Rubio expressed yesterday, I think, also the assessment that the American team now is getting a better understanding of the Russian position and of the root causes of this situation. One of these root causes, apart from NATO and creation of direct military threats to Russia just on our borders, another one is the rights of the national minorities in Ukraine. Everything Russian, media, education, culture, anything was prohibited by law in Ukraine. And to get out of this crisis, you cannot just forget about human rights.

Whenever we discuss Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, anything, American negotiators put on top human rights. They have claims in this regard to China, to us, to anybody. But whenever Europeans and other Western nations speak about Ukraine, nobody can mumble the words human rights. Just nobody.

On the contrary, what Ursula von der Leyen and other people in Brussels and in Europe say that Ukraine is defending the European values. So one of these values is cancelling the Russian language. Imagine if Israel cancelled Arabic language in Palestine. Just imagine.

Question: You mentioned that the US and Russia need to work on some of these fine points of a deal.

Sergey Lavrov: Yeah, you want the fine points to be spelled out?

Question: Well, of course, I’d love that, but this is not the way. European sources say that the US proposal is really just kind of a list of bullet points. Does Russia have details, the details you need at this point?

Sergey Lavrov: Look, we are really polite people. And unlike some others, we never discuss in public what is being discussed in negotiations. Otherwise, negotiations are not serious.

To ask for somebody’s opinion regarding the substance, go to Zelensky. He is happy to talk to anybody through media, even to President Trump. He presents his claims.

We are serious. We are serious people. And we consider serious proposals. We make serious proposals. And this is a process which is not supposed to be public until the end of it.

Question: OK. So no deal is imminent?

Sergey Lavrov: I didn’t say this. Now I understand, by the way, why you wanted to get brief answers to your questions. You want some slogans to be in the broadcast.

Question: No, the President of the United States said there was a deal with Russia. So I wanted to ask Russia if there is a deal with the United States.

Sergey Lavrov: Well, we made our comments on this statement. The negotiations continue. And until the end of the negotiations, we cannot disclose what it is about.

Question: OK. The National Security Advisor Mike Walz said last month that President Trump is asking for thousands of Ukrainian children who were taken into Russia to be released now as part of what he called “confidence building measures.” What steps has Russia taken to meet Mr. Trump’s request?

Sergey Lavrov: Look, long before the request coming from Washington, we have been addressing the issue of the fate of the kids who during the conflict found themselves outside their homes, outside their families. Most of these kids were attending orphanage. And as soon as and we announce whatever details we have about those kids, and as soon as relevance, I mean, the parents or other relevant relatives make themselves available, they are getting the kids back. This has been the process for the last almost three years between the ombudsmen of Russia and Ukraine.

Question: So there’s no new release of thousands of Ukrainian children at the request of President Trump?

Sergey Lavrov: No, there was nobody. Nobody knows why some experts advised the President about thousands of Ukrainian children.

Every now and then, once in two or three months, we organize exchanges with Ukrainians with the help of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, who do not, you know, make any noise about what they’re doing. They just do something which we are participating in a very constructive manner, bringing kids back to their parents or relatives.

Question: But what “confidence building measures” can Russia offer now, particularly after this strike in Kiev, where the President of the United States is saying, “Vladimir, stop.” How do you convince the United States that Russia is actually serious about peace?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, “confidence building measures” have been plentiful in the last 10 years. I mentioned a deal in February…

Question: That strike was overnight.

Sergey Lavrov: You want a brief answer, right? As I understand from your initial words, or you want an answer which is explaining the situation?

The proposal by President Trump on 30 days moratorium on the strikes against the energy infrastructure was supported by President Putin and observed strictly. This was a confidence building measure against the policy and action taken by the Zelensky regime. As I said several hundred times civilian energy infrastructure was struck.

Another confidence building measure was the proposal of President Trump and his team to resume the deal on Black Sea. And the delegations met in Istanbul, in Riyadh. The delegations exchanged the views how this can be implemented in practical terms. And the proposals made by Russia are being considered by the United States. There are many other examples about confidence building measure.

But if you believe that it’s only Ukraine who is interested in confidence building, I think a short answer would be this is an illusion.Read more Estonian president reveals what Trump told him about Ukraine

Question: Do you take President Trump at his word when he says if Russia is unable to make a deal on ending the bloodshed in Ukraine, he’ll put secondary tariffs I think you mean sanctions there on oil coming out of Russia. Or do you think that at this point, the relationship between Russia and America has been rebuilt and that won’t happen?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, I cannot comment on what you think President Trump meant when he said something.

Question: What do you think he meant when he said secondary tariffs on oil coming out of Russia?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, we hear many things coming from President Trump. President Trump said that he’s sick and tired of the situation in this settlement, especially yesterday when he commented the statements by Zelensky. And President Trump has his own proposals and has his own style in mentioning those proposals in his public speeches.

We concentrate, as I said, on the real negotiations which President Trump supports and instructed his people to continue to engage in these negotiations. I’m sorry, the answer was a bit longish, but it’s difficult to explain otherwise.

Question: So I asked about the threat of sanctions or secondary tariffs, because you recently said in an interview, if you had to personally pick sides, you would keep the existing sanctions in place on Russia. You said you’ve restructured the economy to be self-sufficient. And there is a growing fear that, quote, cunning Americans will lift sanctions all of a sudden to flood our market with services and technologies. So if that’s the case, why should the United States consider lifting sanctions at all?

Sergey Lavrov: Why do you ask me? You just quoted my statement, and this statement is clear for me and clear to all those who read it. If you have questions to the American side, how they treat the situation, it is not the right address to raise it with me.

Question: So you want to keep sanctions in place. Is that really the Russian position?

Sergey Lavrov: I don’t want to re-explain what I explained, I think, in quite a clear manner. And you quoted, I think, very close to the real content. Yeah, but it was a bit longer than normally you prefer, I know.

Question: Well, back in February. Though one of your colleagues, Kirill Dmitriev, who runs the Sovereign Wealth Fund and has been active in the diplomacy with the United States, said something a bit different. That’s why I’m asking for clarification, because he said there is the expectation that American companies would return to the Russian market in the second half of 2025.

Sergey Lavrov: Well, the president of Russia commented upon this situation. He said that we have nothing against American companies, but those companies who decided to leave their business in Russia might find that their place has been occupied already by Russian or other foreign investors. And in this case, we would not make any decisions which would discriminate those who came to invest in Russia instead of Americans. If American companies would like to come to a place which is not yet occupied, if they want to propose a project, a new project on top of the previous business ties, of course, we will look into this. And if we find balance of our interests, I think it would be only natural to get into business together.

Question: Well, what areas has the US offered to lift sanctions on? Because it wouldn’t be possible for many American companies to enter the Russian market right now under the existing sanctions.

Sergey Lavrov: It is up to them to decide.

Question: So no offer has been made?

Sergey Lavrov: No. How can we offer something? In a situation when…

Well, the United States clearly tells us that they are interested in doing business together. We never reject business proposals provided they are based on the equal opportunities and the treatment of each other and lead to a balance of interest.

Specific proposals which are being mentioned in the media, I cannot comment upon. This is not serious. We are not acting like the people in Kiev who talk to the world through the media, including talking to presidents of great countries.

Question: So if I understand you correctly, you neither fear sanctions nor want them lifted?

Sergey Lavrov: Look, you quoted my statement and you quoted it right. That’s my position.

Question: Okay. So when President Trump threatens new sanctions, that’s not a concern?

Sergey Lavrov: You’re asking this for the third time. This was a brief answer, by the way.

Question: You are being brief and direct on that part. I was asking on the sanctions for clarity and directness. Broadly speaking, when you look at what’s happening in the battle space in Ukraine right now, analysts say about 18% of Ukrainian territory is under the control of Russian forces. US intelligence says battlefield trends are in Russia’s favour. So if that’s the case, why should the US believe Russia is serious about ending the war if everything is in your favour?

Sergey Lavrov: Well, we judge by the reaction of our American colleagues to what we tell them. And this is being done during negotiations. They are confidential, as any serious negotiation. And they know our position. And as I quoted Marco Rubio, he publicly said that now they better understand the Russian position and the reasons for what is going on. And he said that nobody in Washington lifted a finger to do the same to try to understand Russia during the Biden administration.

And this implies that the dialogue continues, that the dialogue is supported by the United States, and I reiterate that it is supported by the Russian Federation, and this dialogue continues.

Question: So President Trump said he expects to meet soon with Vladimir Putin. What’s an acceptable time and location? Why should they meet?