Sergey Lavrov: “A new global divide was formed de-facto with the western minority on one side, and the World majority on the other”

Photo: MFA

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with the New Regions of Russia magazine, March 10, 2025

Question: Which general international and foreign political conclusions – both positive and negative – can Russia draw after three years of the special military operation? Did we get the very “experience, the son of difficult errors,” in the words of the classic?

Sergey Lavrov: The last three years became the “moment of truth” of a kind. Following the launch of the special military operation to protect the people of Donbass and Novorossiya, the collective West showed what it is worth. Both the infamous rule of law and basic rules of decency were cast aside. The so-called European values, such as inviolability of property, presumption of innocence, freedom of speech and movement, access to information and so forth vanished into thin air. Those who got used to teach everyone how to live, declared themselves democrats and advocates of human rights supported the Neo-Nazi regime in Kiev without blinking an eye.

The whole world saw that ultraliberal ruling elites of the West are driven by hegemonistic instincts. The predatory, colonial habits of the former parent states from among the current EU and British countries, or their innate vices – arrogance, a tendency to deceive and dishonesty in doing business – have not gone away. A new global divide was formed de-facto with the western minority on one side, and the World majority on the other. These are all countries, as well as people of goodwill in the West, who stand for the establishment of a multipolar world supported by a balance of interests.

I believe the main lesson is as follows: we must rely on ourselves in main issues of the functioning of the country and our trusted friends who stayed with us in difficult times.

As far as co-existence with western neighbours is concerned, everything will depend on their behaviour and readiness to admit and correct errors made, including renouncing the maniac aspiration to inflict a strategic defeat on our country.

Question: Do you support the opinion that US President Donald Trump must take an active participation in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and become a sort of a peacemaker?

Sergey Lavrov: I would not like to run too far ahead. As President of Russia Vladimir Putin said a number of times, we are always ready for talks. Yet, our national interests must be guaranteed. The root cause of the conflict in Ukraine must be eradicated – the President highlighted this aspect of the utmost importance in his telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump on February 12. I would like to remind you that, first and foremost, we speak about eradication of threats to security of Russia from the Ukrainian and the western direction, which emerged following the NATO expansion to the east and the necessity to cease the practice, which the Kiev regime adopted, to exterminate everything which is somewhat connected to Russia and the Russian world: the Russian language, culture, canonical Orthodoxy, and Russian-speaking media.

It is too early to make far-reaching conclusions from what we have just heard from Donald Trump’s administration, but it is encouraging. The master of the White House admitted himself that the NATO expansion and attempts to get Ukraine involved in it became one of the root causes of the conflict. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks about the multipolarity of the modern world and the need to respect the interests of all states, both large and small. For the first time in three years, US diplomats voted jointly with Russia and our associates in the UN against the odious resolution of the General Assembly promoted by Kiev and its patrons from the European Union.

These are all steps in the right direction. We value them, but let me reiterate myself: it is too early to make any thoughtful conclusions based on this. We have not even started the work to overcome the accumulated problems and contradictions in our relations with the Americans.

Question: This year, Russia will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Do you, as a politician, a diplomat and a state figure, believe that patriotic feelings are well-established in the country, especially among the young generation? Are we doing everything right to fully preserve the state’s historical memory of the past and the present?

Is Russia’s voice today loud enough on the international stage amid the ongoing information confrontation with the collective West and attempts to rewrite our history?

Sergey Lavrov: Of course, the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War is the pinnacle event of the year. The Foreign Ministry, as well as other government agencies, is preparing to celebrate it in the most fitting manner, paying tribute to the memory of the heroic deeds of our predecessors. The Victory Organising Committee, established to prepare and hold festive events and headed by President of Russia Vladimir Putin, is planning the main ones together with all the 89 regions. The plan already has 170 points and is constantly updated.

In addition to Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities, celebration will centre in the Stalingrad Battle Museum Reserve in Volgograd, Prokhorovskoye Pole Museum Reserve in the Belgorod Region, the Arsenyev Museum Reserve of the History of the Far East in Vladivostok, the Malakhov Kurgan memorial complex in Sevastopol and the Malaya Zemlya memorial in Novorossiysk, as well as the Museum of the World Ocean in Kaliningrad.

It is difficult to answer whether enough attention is paid to the patriotic education of young people. Such a sensitive sphere always has something that can be improved. In a certain sense, it was easier for the post-war generations, to which I belong, too: we had the example of still living front-line soldiers who took part in the Great Patriotic War.

For today’s youth, the heroism of the fighters and commanders of the special military operation should serve as such an example. Hundreds of them served and returned home and now work in schools and with teenage groups. Special military operation soldiers’ involvement in the patriotic education of youth is in high demand. The state is interested in this, and it is no coincidence that the current year of 2025 has been declared the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland in Russia.

As for foreign policy, let me note that despite the information war launched by the collective West, Russia’s voice is heard clearly on the international stage. The world understands that falsifying history and undermining spiritual and moral values will result in deteriorating statehood and the loss of sovereignty. Ukraine is a tragic example of this.

We are supported by those who oppose the revival of Nazism in any shape or form. The overwhelming majority of UN member states vote for Russia’s resolution on combating the glorification of this misanthropic ideology during the General Assembly every year.

The 80th anniversary of the Great Victory is especially important for relations with Russia’s neighbouring countries, because our grandfathers and great-grandfathers fought the Nazi invaders and collaborators from most European countries shoulder to shoulder. This is why the appeal of the CIS Heads of State to the CIS peoples and the international community on the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 was adopted on October 8, 2024 in Moscow. The year of 2025 in the CIS was declared the Year of the 80th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War – Year of Peace and Unity in the Fight against Nazism. The CIS governing bodies have also decided to establish a CIS jubilee medal, The 80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

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