Chances for Russia-US summit rely on Washington—Lavrov

(MENAFN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Sunday that the possibility of organizing a summit between Russia and the United States depends entirely on Washington’s stance.

“President (Donald) Trump suggested to President (Vladimir) Putin to meet in Budapest.

President Putin said, yes, let's go into the preparatory work,” Lavrov said during an interview with a Hungarian media outlet.

He emphasized that Moscow remains open to the idea of holding such a meeting, but stressed that the initiative must come from the U.S. side. “We are polite people. And when we are invited, we say, yes, let's agree how and where and when. And then this invitation is canceled, as President Trump said yesterday in the White House. Later they said that ‘cancel’ means ‘postpone.’ It's up to those who initiated the process,” he explained.

Lavrov added that he had recently held a productive discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “The initiative was on the part of the United States. As I said, I heard that the State Department issued a communique saying that it was a good and productive phone conversation between Rubio and Lavrov. And it was so good that for the time being, we don't need any meetings.”

He went on to recall that “after we talked with Marco Rubio regarding following up on the results of (the August summit between Trump and Putin in) Alaska, he did not mention any new meetings or conversations. And I did not raise the issue, because the entire initiative was coming from the United States. And we would be ready to move as the Americans feel comfortable for themselves.”

According to Lavrov, discussions about the future status of territories in Ukraine are ongoing across multiple diplomatic channels. He noted that President Putin had previously addressed these issues with Trump, as well as with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, and other regional leaders. “We need a buffer zone. Because Ukrainians continue shelling, bombing, droning Russian territory, including the territories which never were challenged by anybody. I mean, Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk,” he said.

Lavrov reiterated that Russia’s main objectives in Ukraine remain unchanged, insisting that Kyiv must stay neutral, avoid NATO membership, forgo nuclear weapons, and protect the rights of Russian-speaking citizens.

“Now the Europeans are trying to dominate the agenda with the rhetoric about ceasefire,” Lavrov said, accusing both Ukraine and European states of undermining Russia-US dialogue and pushing for an unconditional ceasefire while pressuring Washington to adopt their position.

He also criticized Finland’s decision to join NATO, calling it a “mistake” and asserting that such moves only undermine regional stability.

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