Russia expects ongoing Ukraine talks, tied to territorial changes, Lavrov says

Moscow maintains that negotiations between Russia and Ukraine should continue, but stresses that progress is only possible if what it calls the “new territorial realities” are acknowledged.

In remarks published on Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov argued that these realities must not only be recognised, but also formally enshrined in international legal documents. According to him, this is a necessary condition for any settlement to be “durable and lasting.”

Lavrov, speaking to Russia’s Interfax news agency, went further by insisting that peace cannot be achieved in isolation. He said that a comprehensive system of security guarantees must be developed, one that covers both Russia and Ukraine. Such a framework, in his view, should serve as an integral component of a pan-continental security architecture across Eurasia—an arrangement based on what Moscow terms “equal and indivisible security.”

By linking the conflict to a wider regional order, Lavrov positioned Russia’s demands not only as a bilateral issue with Ukraine, but also as part of a broader vision for Eurasian stability. He suggested that without acknowledging the shifts on the ground and creating a new balance of security, peace efforts would lack credibility and permanence.

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