Lavrov says Europe has squandered credibility as Ukraine mediator
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says European governments lost their credibility as mediators after earlier agreements failed.
European governments have squandered their credibility as mediators in the Ukraine conflict, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Agreements aimed at ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine had repeatedly not been honored, Lavrov said. It is therefore questionable whether the Europeans are suitable as guarantors for future peace talks.
Lavrov made the remarks on Friday at a press conference on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Atlanta, United States. The Europeans wanted to get involved in the negotiation process, he said. What matters, however, is not what the Europeans want, but what real added value they can bring. Moscow had previously stated that European representatives would not take part in the peace talks in Abu Dhabi mediated by the United States.
As the first evidence of the failure of European governments, Lavrov cited the February 2014 agreement between then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leaders. France, Germany and Poland had helped mediate; the agreement was meant to end months of protests and deadly clashes in Kyiv. Yanukovych was overthrown shortly afterward. Moscow sees this as the trigger for Crimea breaking away from Ukraine and joining Russia, and for an uprising beginning in the predominantly Russian-speaking Donbas.
The Minsk agreements of 2014 and 2015, which France and Germany had co-mediated, were also not enforced by those states, Lavrov said. They neither ensured that Ukraine implemented political reforms nor that the Donbas was granted a special status. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President François Hollande had acknowledged in separate interviews in December 2022 that the agreements gave Ukraine time to strengthen its military. Moscow cites these statements as proof that Western governments never intended to implement the agreements in good faith.
Lavrov also pointed to the summit in Paris in December 2019, at which the heads of state and government of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the Minsk agreements. The diplomatic process ultimately did not lead to a lasting solution. "In the past twelve years they have had more than enough opportunities," Lavrov said. Their conduct showed that their record could not be ignored if they wanted to act again as "guarantors."
His remarks came one day after a rare phone call between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. The 90-minute conversation about the Ukraine conflict and the upcoming peace negotiations drew criticism from several European heads of government. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated that the initiative had not been coordinated with other European countries; Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he had not been informed in advance. Putin, by contrast, welcomed the contact as a step toward "constructive dialogue."
Lavrov attended the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta at the invitation of the United States, although some European governments opposed Russia's participation. President Donald Trump has also invited Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December. European resistance was evident on Friday when the traditional G20 group photo was cancelled after several European diplomats refused to be photographed next to Lavrov.
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