Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has made provocative statements regarding the ongoing Ukraine conflict, urging for a shift in diplomatic approaches. Lavrov emphasized that peace efforts should not be seen as a "zero-sum game," but rather as a process of listening to both sides and seeking common ground. In a direct response to European Union and NATO leaders, he criticized their vehement opposition to US-Russia talks, calling their reaction “unhealthy” and detrimental to peace efforts. Lavrov also condemned NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg for instructing Ukrainian President Zelensky not to make any concessions to Russia, accusing him of "abusing his position." Lavrov’s remarks highlight the growing divide between Russia and Western powers, as both sides remain entrenched in their positions.
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00:00And according to our data, he is counseling Zelensky,
00:04indicating that Zelensky must stand on his positions and that he must not make any concessions.
00:13They're saying that Kiev may not make any concessions,
00:16especially territorial concessions, and that it may not show any flexibility.
00:20It was a very positive contribution,
00:25which ultimately allowed the Global South to strengthen its position at the Global Forum
00:33and help establish a more equal global order,
00:40fundamentally relying on the sovereign equality of states
00:43and all the other principles reflected in the UN Charter in their entirety and interconnectedness.
00:51So in general, we are very happy with this process.
00:55There are still differences, but that is often a useful thing.
00:59And I believe that Johannesburg has managed to create a positive momentum for the G20
01:07to focus everyone's attention on the issues of Africa and other countries of the Global South.
01:14So on the whole, that is a very positive step in the preparation for the G20 summit,
01:23which will happen in Johannesburg in November 2025.
01:27You said that the G20 is an economic association, first of all.
01:37However, South Africa, beginning its chairmanship, set a goal of achieving a G20 consensus on the Ukraine crisis.
01:46How successful has this effort been so far?
01:49And given the diverse membership of the G20, is such consensus possible?
01:54Well, I am not aware of South Africa setting such a goal.
01:59I was following closely.
02:04I followed them assuming their presidency, and I watched the Sherpas' work.
02:10They didn't have such a goal.
02:12I had a lengthy talk to the foreign minister, and I had a talk with President Ramaphosa,
02:18and they confirmed that they support the need to abide by the original mandate of the G20,
02:26trade, finance, logistics, transport, and related issues.
02:33So I have not seen, and my colleagues who worked to prepare the ministerial meeting have not seen such a trend.
02:41Mr. Lavrov, the United States avoided high-level participation in the Johannesburg meeting,
02:54and they undermined previous meetings while trying to force the Ukraine agenda.
03:01So how do you think can the EU's disruptive influence be addressed, and does the G20 have a future?
03:10Well, as you mentioned, the previous meetings have been undermined by the West by trying to Ukrainianize the agenda.
03:21I wouldn't say that's a fair assessment.
03:24The previous attempts by the West to Ukrainianize the G20 were undermined by the other participants of this association.
03:35And if you look at the outcome documents, after a compromise was reached between all the participants of the G20
03:48to include a small segment on geopolitical issues, you won't find anything there that the Russian Federation would reject.
04:02It says, in the last year and the year before that, it just says that there's a large number of problems,
04:13such as the Palestinian problem and what's happening in Gaza and the Middle East in general.
04:21But in order to come to an agreement on including this language, these small paragraphs,
04:30our experts had to spend a lot of time and influence on the Palestinian or Ukrainian conflicts.
04:46There is none. It does not have any influence because there are relevant formats to address these crisis situations.
04:55But still, even this language included in the G20 leaders' declarations have not shifted the essence of the economic discussions,
05:06which ultimately are beneficial for the shaping of the global multipolar order.
05:15The aggressive global minority seems to be getting smaller, yet no less aggressive.
05:29Statements from Macron, Callas, Schultz and others grow increasingly tragicomic.
05:36What do you think drives them and what are they trying to achieve?
05:40Well, this is something that has surprised me too.
05:43Kaya Callas spoke here at the G20 with the same series of accusations,
05:50proclaiming some plans which would not allow Russia to take its due place in the world.
05:59I do believe there is a tragicomic element in all of that.
06:05I would also note her statements about the Riyadh meeting between Russia and the U.S.
06:14when she said that the TV picture where the Russian foreign minister, the U.S. State Secretary
06:22and the national security advisors from Moscow and Washington created an image for the world that Russia is a winner.
06:31So this mentality has not gone anywhere.
06:35Since the Soviet Union fell apart and we had to rebuild relations with the European part of Eurasia,
06:42it was always either-or, either you're with us or you're against us.
06:47That was their attitude.
06:50So since the first time of the Ukrainian conflict, from the coup in Ukraine,
06:58which we believe wasn't part of the West's systemic policy, which was part of its policy,
07:08but the problems have risen from that time.
07:11So when the United States pressured the Supreme Court to reject Yanukovych's victory in the second round of elections
07:20and appointed, sorry, I believe that was the Constitutional Court,
07:25and it appointed and mandated a third round of elections, which was not provided for by the Constitution,
07:33and it was an unprecedented manipulation, this led to the victory of Yushchenko.
07:39And before that third round of elections took part, Belgium's foreign minister said publicly
07:46that he calls on Ukrainian voters to make the right choice, either they're with Russia or they're with Europe.
07:53So that confrontational spirit has not gone anywhere.
07:57And what is behind that spirit is the unwillingness to loosen the grip
08:06and to let anyone stray away from the rule of the Western countries.
08:12They have been trying to do that in all parts of the world and on the post-Soviet space too.
08:17And the people who are now trying to voice assessments about Western countries
08:28and who are trying to maintain unity of the Western countries,
08:31I cannot but mention Mr. Rutte, who is speaking as if he's the head of a powerful state and not just an official
08:40who is obligated to reflect the consensus of all their members.
08:47He's touring around NATO countries' capitals, demanding to prevent a peace settlement
08:56that would be beneficial for Russia in any way.
09:01And according to our data, he is counseling Zelensky,
09:09indicating that Zelensky must stand on his positions and that he must not make any concessions.
09:21They're saying that Kiev may not make any concessions, especially territorial concessions,
09:26and that it may not show any flexibility.
09:30That's what they're doing.
09:31So certainly this person, Rutte, is abusing his position.
09:37And we know for a fact that not all members of NATO are taking such a rabid position.
09:45We know that not all of them really want to continue spending all their money on Ukraine
09:51and subjugating the entire work of NATO and the European Union to Zelensky's whims.
09:59But truth will ultimately prevail.
10:03There are now increasingly reasonable voices in European countries and in Washington,
10:08and we had a detailed account of our talks.
10:14The President has talked on this subject several times.
10:18The thing is not about making concessions.
10:21It's not about us making concessions to them or them conceding something to us.
10:27It's sort of a zero-sum game.
10:29Politics and diplomacy is, first of all, a dialogue.
10:33It's about listening and hearing the other party and the desire to find common ground,
10:43finding a place where your interests come together.
10:46So you may find consensus on individual issues.
10:50It doesn't mean that differences will disappear completely,
10:55but you may obtain practical results, including of the economy.
11:00And where you have differences, you can prevent those differences from escalating to a conflict,
11:07especially an armed conflict.
11:12And how have your G20 colleagues from friendly countries responded to the renewal of Russian-American dialogue,
11:19and how can this impact the development of multipolarity?
11:26There has been a very positive response from everyone to that meeting.
11:31They all understand that it's not the end of the Russia-West confrontation,
11:38but the fact that the dialogue has renewed is a sign of going back to normal,
11:45and that is something that everyone recognizes.
11:49The meeting in Riyadh got a tragicomic response from those characters you mentioned,
11:58the heads of Brussels bureaucracy and NATO, and that is very telling.
12:04The very fact that representatives of two great powers sat down at the negotiating table
12:11and told each other what they think is seen as a betrayal of the West, that is not healthy.
12:19Those people are not healthy.
12:21And most of the people that we have talked to, people from the global majority, share that view,
12:28even though not all of them are saying that directly, but that is my feeling.
12:35The UN General Assembly draft resolution prepared for February 24th by Britain, France, Germany,
12:43the Baltic states and other European countries demand that Moscow immediately and unconditionally withdraws from Ukraine.
12:52And for the first time since the operation began, the U.S. isn't co-sponsoring such Ukraine resolution.
12:59Do you think this is a sign that the Russian-American relations are warming?
13:06This indicates a pragmatism on the part of Donald Trump's administration.
13:13That is the essence of their policy.
13:18When meeting the leaders of some countries, including Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi,
13:25but probably while meeting other heads of government as well, he emphasized that he is guided by common sense.
13:38And I believe that is what has led to the change in the list of co-sponsors of that dead-end resolution that you mentioned.
13:52What issues is the Russian foreign ministry working on in preparation for a potential meeting between Presidents Putin and Trump?
13:59And when might such a meeting take place?
14:03When it takes place, you will certainly know.
14:07As to the issues that we're working on, that is, of course, confidential.
14:12It's a key part of any diplomatic process.
14:17But I'm sure that we will provide information in due course.
14:22And the press service of the Kremlin will certainly be the first to brief you.
14:30U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassett has suggested the possibility of discussing sanctions relief for Russia as a part of a Ukraine crisis negotiations.
14:45What is Russia's position on this issue?
14:50And if there were such a discussion about the crisis resolutions, where?
15:02Well, is it possible to achieve a resolution without comprehensive settlements and sanctions?
15:09Well, we have not touched on this topic.
15:15We believe it is a grave violation of all the principles that the West put at the foundation of the global economy.
15:22Fair competition, a private property, the presumption of innocence, and all the free market mechanisms.
15:30All of that was thrown down.
15:32And we can also add direct theft of Russian assets.
15:37It is a shameful thing to mention.
15:39They didn't just steal the assets, but they're also using the revenue from those assets to fund the Ukraine war.
15:52Recently, there have been reports that some Western countries are willing to go back to Russia and resume their operations.
16:01I believe that our economic agencies have had a very proper response.
16:09Over the years of this hybrid war, including the illegitimate sanctions, we have made many steps to provide a powerful momentum to the development of our own sectors and industries, which used to be reliant on the United States and the European Union until recently.
16:31And this new state has enabled us to realize how beneficial it is for our economy to develop our own technologies, which in some cases are already better than the Western ones.
16:51Now, I think this is the kind of logic that we must be guided by when we're talking about this.
16:57So we must not talk about the Western companies coming back to Russia, even though they must not be dissuaded from that.
17:05But they should be let come back to sectors which will not create threats to the Russian economy in case someone decides that we must be punished again.
17:18The sanctions have taught us and have forced us in many respects and have actually inspired us to conduct deep reforms of our economy in the interests of a fully fledged and sovereign development, independent of the whims of those who believe themselves to still be the king of the hill.
17:47And the rulers of the global economy.
17:52So, as I've said, multipolarity is gaining strength and there is an increasing momentum in the economic and political and financial sphere.
18:02And all of this means that the multipolarity that is taking shape is unstoppable.
18:10And so the G20 is keeping its role and its participants must realize that this process is inevitable and they must be part of this process.
18:21Multipolarity does not include the West.
18:24The West is part of the planet, part of the economic life of the planet.
18:29And the G20 is a platform for education for our Western colleagues as well.
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