Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has rejected European calls for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, saying such a move would “keep the Nazi regime in power” and “ban the Russian language.” His remarks, quoted by pro-government agencies RIA Novosti and TASS, came after his meeting with Ethiopia’s foreign minister.
Speaking to reporters, Lavrov criticized a joint statement by European leaders who reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and expressed approval for US President Donald Trump’s latest diplomatic efforts to end the fighting. “A ceasefire now would mean only one thing – a huge part of Ukraine would remain under the control of a Nazi regime,” Lavrov said. “This would be the only place on Earth where an entire language is banned by law – and a language that is official at the UN and spoken by the majority of the population.”
The Russian foreign minister accused “the European patrons and masters of Ukraine” of influencing Washington to abandon the idea of a comprehensive peace agreement and instead insist that “everything simply stops and history itself decides the outcome.” He also linked the European position to a shift in American policy, claiming that it contradicted what was agreed upon between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin during their meeting in Alaska. “This meeting,” Lavrov said, “was dedicated to eliminating the root causes of the conflict, not to freezing it.
His remarks came after a joint statement by European leaders on October 21, in which they supported Trump’s efforts to negotiate a ceasefire and suggested that “the current front line should be the starting point for negotiations.” According to the Washington Post, in his last conversation with Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted that Russia gain full control of the Donetsk region as a condition for ending the war, hinting that Moscow might cede parts of Zaporizhia and Kherson regions in exchange. Trump, for his part, supported the idea of “freezing” the war along the current front line, but denied calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to surrender the entire Donbas region (Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk).
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no dates have been confirmed for the expected meeting between Trump and Putin. In comments to Interfax, he indicated that the two sides had not agreed on a specific timetable, stressing that “serious preparation is required”. “You have heard statements from both the American and our sides that this may take time. Therefore, no specific dates were initially discussed,” Peskov added.
Regarding claims that the meeting could be postponed, Peskov explained that talks about a possible meeting in Budapest are ongoing, but are confidential. “Such proposals are not made public – the process is discreet and must remain so in the interests of its effectiveness,” he said.
It was reported today that a planned meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, which was supposed to pave the way for the summit, has been postponed for unspecified reasons. Moscow called the media reports “inaccurate,” but the delay has sparked speculation that the Trump-Putin meeting could also be postponed. The talks between Rubio and Lavrov were originally scheduled for October 23.
