Sergey Lavrov: “The Kremlin has already made its position quite clear. Even if these Tomahawks end up in Ukraine, it will not change the military situation”

Photo: MFA

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answers to media questions following the 22nd annual session of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

Sochi, September 30, 2025

Question: What are your impressions of the current session of the Valdai Discussion Club and of your interactions with its participants?

Sergey Lavrov: As always, the impressions are positive. I appreciate this audience – attentive, unbiased, and always striving to clarify various aspects related to Russian foreign policy.

I consider this a beneficial initiative. We not only share information and respond to participants’ questions but also draw certain ideas that, in some cases, are translated into practical policy.

Naturally, the main event will be the day after tomorrow when President Vladimir Putin arrives. I believe this session will be the most substantial. We are looking forward to the questions and answers from our President.

Question: What is Moscow’s position regarding Donald Trump’s plan to resolve the situation in Gaza, which was announced on Monday? How do you assess the proposal to establish temporary external governance with international participation and to form an international contingent for rapid deployment in Gaza? Has Moscow received any signals about the possibility of participating in this contingent? How do you evaluate the chances of success for this plan as a whole?

Sergey Lavrov: We have not seen this plan. We have only heard comments about its contents. You have now outlined its main provisions.

I have heard that this international body, which is intended to “temporarily govern Gaza,” is planned to be headed by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He himself seems to have already announced this.

I reiterate, I am not privy to the details. I do not know what powers he will be granted, nor how the Arab countries view this. I am aware that some of them have already welcomed Donald Trump’s plan. However, a final assessment can only be made once we know the views of all of Palestine’s neighbours, Israel, the countries of the region, the League of Arab States, the Gulf Cooperation Council, and, above all, the Palestinians themselves. I have heard that representatives of the Palestinian National Authority are not being considered for inclusion in this temporary body, even as observers.

Regarding the international security forces. No, we have not been invited to participate. I reiterate, we only became aware of this new plan yesterday. However, I have read that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, commenting on Donald Trump’s plan – which was announced following Netanyahu’s visit to Washington – said that the plan is good and should not be altered. He claimed that Hamas and everyone else should agree to it. Among the positive aspects of this plan, he stated that Israel would retain control over security in Gaza. This somewhat contradicts the establishment of international forces, so all the details need to be clarified first.

Question: As you know, China has recently put forward a global governance initiative at the SCO summit. Russia supported this initiative. What do you think is the practical significance of this proposal? Was the possibility of any joint actions within the framework of this global governance initiative discussed at the SCO and BRICS platforms?

Sergey Lavrov: The initiative was put forward just the day before the summit. To be precise, we learned about it on the eve of the SCO meeting. Nevertheless, we believe it is useful, since it is aimed at setting right the situation in which global governance mechanisms have been completely subordinated to the West.

Take the International Monetary Fund, for example, where the United States is blocking the decision to increase quotas for countries of the Global South. Or the World Bank, where the West openly abuses its dominance.

Recently, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the EU would provide €1.5 billion for the restoration of Palestine. She said with pride that the sum was enormous. Yet, how much more have they allocated to Ukraine? Not for rebuilding, but for waging war against Russia. Hundreds of times more.

Some time ago, Ukraine requested a $38 billion loan from the World Bank. The Bank responded: “Why 38? Let’s make it 65 billion.” Such bias and the misuse of multilateral mechanisms to pursue unilateral, geopolitical, and self-serving goals are disastrous.

The World Trade Organisation also requires reform. For many decades, the United States has been blocking the work of its Dispute Settlement Body, above all to prevent this body from considering complaints brought by China over discrimination and blatant violations of WTO rules by Western countries.

And, of course, the United Nations. Reform of the Security Council and other UN bodies must be fair. This includes reform of the Secretariat, where key positions – those that essentially determine the functioning of the entire UN system and the allocation of financial resources – have long been monopolised by representatives of NATO and the EU. This situation is unsustainable. We will consistently advocate for reform of global governance.

As for practical aspects, we expect our Chinese colleagues, as the initiators of this proposal, to further elaborate their approaches. We will actively support them in this effort.

Question: Recently, parliamentary elections were held in Moldova. The results are already known: the ruling party has won. Can we say that, by using electoral mechanisms, Moldova is strengthening an anti-Russian stronghold?

Sergey Lavrov: Certainly. President of Moldova Maia Sandu has long been one of the heralds of anti-Russian rhetoric. The elections were fraudulent. I am astonished at how blatantly the votes of the electorate can be manipulated.

However, the most significant point is that even with the manipulations and the obstacles created to voting for residents of Transnistria – where bridges were closed, and so-called quarantines were declared, preventing many from casting their votes – the patriotic opposition within Moldova still garnered more support than Maia Sandu’s party. It was only through the mobilisation of resources for overseas voting – where in Europe, voters were practically hand-carried to polling stations (while in Russia, only two polling stations were opened in Moscow) – that the desired percentage was achieved.

Despite all these machinations, the result remains indicative. Even with such fraudulent methods, their success is limited.

Question: There have been many bold statements coming from Washington recently. The US President’s Special Envoy, Keith Kellogg, in an interview with Fox News, claimed that Ukraine allegedly has permission to strike deep into Russian territory. The US Vice President, J.D. Vance, has stated that the issue of supplying Ukraine with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles is under discussion. Does Moscow view this as an act of pressure from the United States on Russia? How will the Russian authorities respond diplomatically?

Sergey Lavrov: I believe this is, first and foremost, a result of pressure from Europe on Washington. The United States wants to demonstrate that it takes the opinions of its allies into account. I do not think we are dealing with a decision that has already been made. The Americans do not supply Tomahawks to just anyone. If I am not mistaken, among Europeans, only Spain and the Netherlands have received them. They have been somewhat cautious with others. If they consider Ukraine to be a responsible state that will use them responsibly, that would be surprising.

Indeed, Keith Kellogg and J.D. Vance have spoken about this. Incidentally, Keith Kellogg generally takes an entirely pro-Ukrainian stance. Although US President Donald Trump always says that “he is a mediator, and Ukraine and Russia should resolve matters directly,” Keith Kellogg recently publicly advised the Ukrainian regime to accept reality and de facto agree that the territory is as it is now. He suggested that they should not worry about it, as, for example, the Baltic states were part of the Soviet Union, and the US did not recognise them de jure, but they later became free. “The same applies here,” said Keith Kellogg. This diverges from the position held by President Donald Trump. There are many spokespersons who simply promote the Ukrainian agenda.

The Kremlin has already made its position quite clear. Even if these Tomahawks end up in Ukraine, it will not change the military situation.

Question: A question about our key partner in the Global South – India. The US administration continues its attempts to pressure this country into abandoning Russian oil under the pretext of allegedly financing the conflict in Ukraine. In your view, what are the true reasons behind this pressure?

Sergey Lavrov: The true reasons lie in the fact that President Donald Trump has declared the need for the United States to actively defend its national interests. These national interests include aggressively promoting their goods on international markets to their partners, as well as eliminating competitors, in this case, the Russian Federation, under the pretext of the war in Ukraine.

However, our Indian colleagues have already responded to calls to stop purchasing oil from Russia. They fundamentally proceed from the position that if the United States wants to sell something to India, including oil, then New Delhi is ready to sit at the negotiating table and discuss the terms. As for how and in what manner to trade with other countries, including Russia, that is a matter of Russian-Indian relations. This position has been articulated by both Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. I believe it reflects the national interest and dignity of our Indian friends.

Question: Brazil has played an active role in attempting to mediate the conflict in Ukraine. How do you assess today’s contacts with the Brazilian side in this context, as well as in terms of building a multipolar world?

Sergey Lavrov: We have very close relations with our Brazilian friends. I attended the BRICS summit and the meeting of foreign ministers. Detailed discussions have already taken place with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira. We appreciate the position of the Brazilian side, which, a couple of years ago, formulated a proposal to assist in resolving humanitarian issues. In particular, these issues are being addressed in line with the views expressed by our Brazilian friends.

The Africans, led by South Africa, have also put forward similar considerations. As a result, we are resolving humanitarian issues, exchanging prisoners, returning bodies, and addressing the problem of separated families.

The Ukrainians long claimed that “tens of thousands of children have gone missing” and that Russia had taken them away. When the Russian and Ukrainian delegations met again in Istanbul, our delegation insisted on receiving a list of these children. This is, after all, a matter of profound concern. Following prolonged and persistent persuasion, the Ukrainians provided us with a list of 339 children. Most of them turned out not to be children but adults, who were not on the territory of the Russian Federation. Moreover, most of them were not in Russia but in Europe. Therefore, these humanitarian issues must be addressed honestly. We appreciate that Brazil advocates precisely this approach.

Regarding the political aspects of the settlement, we are explaining to our Brazilian and other BRICS colleagues the approaches that President Vladimir Putin has articulated on multiple occasions. The key to a sustainable settlement in Ukraine is to eliminate the root causes of the conflict and the threats to the security of the Russian Federation, which the West has created using the Ukrainian regime, as well as to fully restore the legally prohibited rights of the Russian and Russian-speaking population in Ukraine. So, we will continue to cooperate.

Thank you very much.

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