Lavrov claims Moscow is ready for negotiations with Ukraine "at any time," Kyiv and the EU remain skeptical

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine "at any moment and from the point where they were interrupted." According to him, Moscow prioritizes a "political-diplomatic settlement" of the war, even as hostilities continue and Ukrainian strikes on the territory of the Russian Federation and occupied Crimea intensify.

Lavrov claims that the parameters of a potential settlement had already been "discussed and agreed upon" at a meeting in Alaska nearly a year ago. "I don't even want to assume that Alaska, as well as the actions of the Europeans, were intended to gain time for the additional rearmament of the Kyiv regime. I don't even want to think about it. But in practice, everything happened as it happened," the Russian foreign minister commented cynically.

On the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin's aide Yury Ushakov stated that the aggressor country is "ready for dialogue" with the European Union as well. According to him, there have already been "some attempts" by the EU to establish contacts with Moscow. When asked to clarify whether Russia is ready to negotiate with Brussels, Ushakov replied in the affirmative, but without providing specifics regarding format or conditions.

Against this backdrop, the Kremlin's official line regarding direct negotiations with Kyiv remains unchanged and firm. On May 7, Moscow declared that it considers tripartite talks in a "USA – Ukraine – Russia" format to be "inexpedient" until Ukraine withdraws its troops from the part of Donbas it controls. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly emphasized that Ukraine will "never accept" such a condition, as it would mean abandoning hundreds of thousands of its citizens under occupation.

On June 4, Zelenskyy published an open letter to Vladimir Putin, in which he called for an end to the war "in a format between you and us" and proposed a personal meeting. The Ukrainian head of state even stated he was ready to discuss "freezing the front line" as a temporary solution aimed at a diplomatic settlement and real security guarantees. Putin, however, rejected the proposal for a meeting and gave no sign that he is ready to abandon military pressure.

In the European context, the topic of possible negotiations also remains sensitive. On June 17, Bloomberg agency reported that European Council President António Costa had established contact with Kremlin representatives with the aim of drawing Vladimir Putin into discussing potential paths to end the war. According to sources, Costa's chief advisor held two phone conversations with a high-ranking Russian official close to Putin in an attempt to sound out Moscow's readiness for a real dialogue.

For now, the messages from the Russian side – both from Lavrov and Ushakov – sound like an attempt to demonstrate "openness to negotiations," but in practice, they are tied to conditions that Kyiv and its allies define as unacceptable. Ukraine insists that any negotiation must begin with the recognition of Russian aggression and the idea of restoring sovereignty and territorial integrity, while Moscow continues to talk about "negotiations" against a backdrop of ongoing strikes and occupation.