Russia Wants to Settle the Ukraine Issue with Trump "Like Guys Do," Says Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Vladimir Putin’s team allegedly has a special approach to U.S. President Donald Trump regarding ending the war against Ukraine. According to him, the Kremlin has been trying to resolve the issue “like guys do” and has allegedly reached a preliminary agreement with the American leader.
According to Lavrov, the Russian leadership follows a unique approach to international diplomacy and tries to negotiate without unnecessary formalities.
“We are used to doing things, one might say, in a noble way, or one might say, in a ‘tough-guy’ way—which, in essence, amounts to the same thing,” stated the Russian Foreign Minister.
He said that Putin went into his meeting with Trump in Anchorage a year ago with precisely this mindset. Lavrov claims that the Russian president had hoped at the time to reach an agreement on ending the war and to sign a corresponding treaty.
The Russian minister reiterated the claim that Putin had allegedly fully agreed to Trump’s proposals for ending the war in Ukraine.
“We shook hands,” Lavrov assured.
At the same time, the Russian foreign minister did not provide any details of a signed agreement or document that would confirm that final arrangements had been reached.
According to Lavrov, representatives of the European Union and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly intervened in the process after the talks.
The Russian diplomat claims that it was they who allegedly “buried” the agreements that, according to him, Putin and Trump had reached in Anchorage.
After that, Lavrov said, the White House’s position supposedly changed, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio proposed seeking “new approaches” to the settlement.
At the same time, Lavrov acknowledged an important detail. According to him, after talks with Putin, Trump described the transfer of the entire Donbas region to Russia as a complex issue.
Thus, the Russian minister’s statements about the alleged agreements do not mean that the parties had a definitively agreed-upon plan to end the war.
This is reported by Russian media.
As a reminder, CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Russia this week took place under conditions of heightened secrecy. The decision to send the head of U.S. intelligence to Moscow in person was made personally by U.S. President Donald Trump.
During his secret visit to Moscow this week, CIA Director John Ratcliffe conveyed to the Russian side a pessimistic assessment of the course of the war against Ukraine and urged the Kremlin to begin serious negotiations before Russia’s military and economic situation deteriorates further.
On August 27, the European Commission stated that it had not been informed in advance of CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow. At the same time, the EU emphasized that it continues to strengthen its own defense capabilities.
U.S. President Donald Trump commented for the first time on CIA Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow, stating that his trip was “semi-routine” in nature.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe did not meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow on August 25 aboard a C-17 Globemaster III strategic military transport aircraft. Government aircraft could have been used for the senior U.S. official’s trip, but this time a much more powerful military aircraft was chosen.
