PROVINCE REPORT
NEW YORK: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, addressing the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on September 23, 2026, said Russia remained ready for negotiations aimed at achieving what he described as a lasting and just peace.
Lavrov said the 2015 Minsk agreements, if implemented, would have preserved Ukraine within its 1991 borders, except for Crimea. He also said Russia’s December 2021 proposals on mutual security interests had been rejected by NATO and the Biden administration.
According to Lavrov, negotiations between Russia and Ukraine held in Belarus and Istanbul in 2022 resulted in proposed principles for a settlement, including Ukraine’s neutral status, recognition of realities on the ground and collective security guarantees. He said the document was initialled by the two delegations but was not subsequently formalized into a treaty.
Lavrov said Russia was prepared to negotiate but would not suspend its military operation during negotiations. He accused European countries of seeking a pause to replenish Ukraine’s military resources.
On territorial issues, Lavrov also referred to Greenland and questioned what he described as inconsistencies in statements concerning sovereignty and territorial integrity. He cited the UN Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States and said sovereignty and territorial integrity should be considered alongside the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
Lavrov further argued that the authorities in Kyiv could not be regarded, in Russia’s view, as representing the interests of people in Crimea, Donbass and other territories claimed by Russia.
