Ukraine Must Abandon NATO Aspirations or Peace Will Be Difficult – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Ukraine Must Abandon NATO Aspirations or Peace Will Be Difficult – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov

Moscow, April 15, 2025 — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that reaching an understanding with the United States on the key aspects of a potential peace agreement to end the war in Ukraine is not easy. He also firmly stated that Russia will never again become economically dependent on Western countries.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump, who seeks to present himself as a “peace-seeking leader,” has made several attempts to end the bloody three-year war in Ukraine, though no effective agreement has yet been signed.

"Difficult to Agree on Core Elements of a Deal"

In an interview with the influential Russian daily Kommersant, Lavrov said:

“It is not easy to agree on the core elements of a settlement. Discussions are ongoing. We know which agreements would be mutually beneficial and which ones could trap us.”

Demand for Ukraine to Abandon NATO Aspirations

Lavrov reiterated Russia’s clear position, as laid out by President Vladimir Putin in June 2024. Russia’s demands include:

• Ukraine must formally abandon its pursuit of NATO membership.

• Ukrainian forces must fully withdraw from four regions that Russia claims as its own.

“We are talking about the rights of the people in those regions. We cannot abandon them to be driven out of their homes,” Lavrov said.

Russian Control and Relations with the West

Currently, Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, including:

• Crimea, annexed in 2014.

• Four additional Ukrainian regions, claimed by Russia (though most of the international community has not recognized these claims).

Praise for Trump

Lavrov praised Donald Trump’s “common sense” and realistic worldview, saying:

“The U.S. push to bring Ukraine into NATO was one of the major causes of the war.”

Determination to End Western Dependence

Lavrov emphasized that Russia’s political elite no longer wants to rely on the West — whether in financial, military, technological, or agricultural sectors. He said:

“Western sanctions — especially those imposed under the Biden administration on Russia, China, and Iran — have shattered the very structure of globalization.”

Polarization of the War

Western leaders, especially President Biden and Ukraine, have labeled Russia’s 2022 invasion as an act of “imperial land-grabbing” and have vowed to defeat the Russian military.

On the other hand, President Putin argues that the war is a "struggle against Western decline." According to him, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Russia was humiliated by the West, and NATO's eastward expansion symbolizes that humiliation.