Sergey Lavrov quotes

Sergey Lavrov is a Russian diplomat who has served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia since 2004. His diplomatic career spans several decades, including a long tenure as Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. He is known for his influential role in shaping Russia's foreign policy and navigating complex international relations. Here are 40 of his quotes:

Members of the international community, first of all our Western partners, have chosen the path of supporting one of the sides in the civil war – probably the party that represented the Libyan people's legitimate aspirations, but this still increased the number of casualties among the civilian population.

Sergey Lavrov

Several years ago, the United States started accusing Russia of violating the INF Treaty, without providing any evidence. We basically had to pry the information from the US, information that would help us understand... what they meant. The US eventually mentioned the 9M729 missile, claiming that it had been tested on certain days at a certain testing site, and that the range violated the treaty's provisions. Our data concerning these tests showed the opposite. The missile's range is allowed under the treaty.

Sergey Lavrov

A new reality is being formed: the unipolar world is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past, a multipolar one is taking shape. It's an objective process. It's unstoppable. In this reality, more than one power will "rule” it will be necessary to negotiate between all the key states that today have a decisive influence on the world economy and politics. At the same time, realizing their special situation, these countries ensure compliance with the basic principles of the UN Charter, including the fundamental one – the sovereign equality of states. No one on this Earth should be seen as a minor player. Everyone is equal and sovereign.

Sergey Lavrov

What do they mean by insolent remarks that the countries external to the Western Hemisphere are not allowed to have any interests there?... Take a look at the map of the U. S. military bases-the whole world is dotted with red spots and each of them poses rather serious risks.

Sergey Lavrov

In many Western countries, everyday Russophobia has become of an unprecedented nature, and, to our great regret, is encouraged by government circles in a number of countries.

Sergey Lavrov

It is safe to say that this situation will be with us for a long time.

Sergey Lavrov

The West has declared war on us, on the whole Russian world. The culture of canceling Russia and everything connected with our country is already reaching the point of absurdity.

Sergey Lavrov

The EU has evolved from a constructive economic platform, as it was created, to an aggressive and belligerent player which already displays its ambitions far beyond the European continent.

Sergey Lavrov

If you are worried about the prospect of war in Europe - we do not want that at all.

Sergey Lavrov

I didn't invite anyone to pose for a photo together with me.

Sergey Lavrov

We believe that the coalition's intervention in the civil war in Libya has not, essentially, been sanctioned by the UN Security Council resolution, its only purpose is to ensure the protection of the civilian population.

Sergey Lavrov

As the Libyan experience has shown, sadly, a military scenario is possible. We won't allow any more such disingenuous interpretations. We will see to it that no resolution is open to interpretation like the one on Libya.

Sergey Lavrov

We believe this would be a huge mistake and we hope that this would never happen.

Sergey Lavrov

If something goes wrong in Syria, many countries of the region will feel a negative impact. We can't support isolation because of the lesson we drew from Libya.

Sergey Lavrov

There was an attack on our citizens in South Ossetia since most people had a Russian passport and thus Russian citizenship.

Sergey Lavrov

Ha! I've heard about these reports. I think it's another provocation, coming just before NATO war games on Georgian territory that were in complete disregard of Russia's warnings. If this is aimed at drawing other participants of the war games into the conflict - prompted by statements from the Georgian government - then this only proves that we were 100% right when we warned those taking part in the war games not to do so as it will lead heighten tensions sharply.

Sergey Lavrov

We discussed this issue. We welcome steps Pakistan and India have taken on confidence-building measures. Both countries are capable of settling their issues on their own without any foreign assistance.

Sergey Lavrov

We think that additional steps, including the cancellation of the no-fly zone, should be taken.

Sergey Lavrov

Absolutely no evidence.

Sergey Lavrov

President Poroshenko and his regime enjoy impunity and plan provocations like the one that occurred at the entrance to the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea. Literally a day after this blatant provocation, the text of the order...was found on one of the boats... It said that the boats should covertly, without requesting authorisation of the Russian authorities...Why?...There may only be one answer: they wanted to provoke a scandal.

Sergey Lavrov

The people I met with yesterday, including German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, expressed concern about this situation. If they are concerned, they should talk to their ally, the United States, and have the US sit down and talk substantively, rather than accuse us without any grounds from across the ocean. We are ready for such a dialogue and suggested considering the INF Treaty at the Russia-NATO Council. In response, our NATO colleagues completely blocked all communication channels between the Russian and NATO military...

Sergey Lavrov

We have come up with proposals that we have repeatedly made available to the United States, including in Helsinki, when President Putin met with President Trump. I myself presented one such proposal to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. We re-submitted our proposals during a visit by US National Security Adviser John Bolton to Moscow in August and later in October, when he was in Moscow again. These proposals are about starting a serious, candid and professional dialogue on the INF Treaty, compliance with the START Treaty, and a number of other proposals regarding our approaches to ​​strategic stability. We got nothing in response from the US partners. We occasionally remind them about it. They keep saying that we need to correct our mistakes and stop the violations.

Sergey Lavrov