Lavrov linked CIA director's visit to Moscow with negotiations on Ukraine and mentioned a "gangster-style" approach
Russia has no intention of deviating from the conditions for ending the war against Ukraine, which Moscow considers agreed with U.S. President Donald Trump during his meeting with Vladimir Putin in Anchorage. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, commenting on new contacts between Moscow and the US and the Vatican, said that the Russian side is accustomed to negotiating "like gentlemen" or "like gangsters" and believes it has already "shaken hands" with Washington.
Lavrov said this in an interview with RBC, commenting on negotiations to end the war and the recent visit to Moscow of CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
"We are used to doing things, one might say, like gentlemen, or like gangsters. We have shaken hands," - said the Russian Foreign Minister.
With this phrasing, Lavrov described Russia's vision of agreements allegedly reached between Putin and Trump at the Anchorage summit in August 2025.
Russia insists on the "Anchorage agreements"
According to Lavrov, the basis of negotiations in Anchorage were the proposals that Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff had brought to Moscow before the presidents' meeting.
The Russian minister claims that they contained certain compromise elements, but Moscow effectively agreed with the American proposal without significant changes.
Lavrov also stated that after the summit, Trump positively assessed the results of the talks and spoke of only one unresolved difficult point. According to Moscow's interpretation, it was the part of Donetsk region that remains under Ukraine's control.
Russia continues to demand the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the unoccupied part of Donetsk region. Kyiv rejects such a condition.
Meanwhile, a detailed joint peace document was not publicly presented following the meeting in Anchorage, and the conditions cited by Lavrov are a Russian interpretation of what the presidents discussed.
Lavrov linked visits of CIA director and Vatican representative
Lavrov was also asked why CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the Vatican Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, arrived in Moscow almost simultaneously.
According to the Russian minister, in both cases the initiators of the contacts wanted to come to Moscow and hold direct negotiations.
Gallagher met with Lavrov on 25 August. During the talks, the parties discussed the war against Ukraine and humanitarian issues. The Holy See representative called for an end to hostilities and the creation of conditions for political and diplomatic settlement.
What the CIA director discussed in Moscow
On the same day, CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in the Russian capital. This was a rare and unannounced visit by the head of American intelligence to Russia.
The Kremlin later confirmed that Ratcliffe held talks with representatives of Russian intelligence services. The CIA director did not meet with Putin.
According to American media, Ratcliffe was personally sent to Moscow by Trump. Among the topics of negotiations were the war against Ukraine, the possibility of resuming the negotiation process, Russia's relations with Iran, and warnings to Moscow against escalation against NATO countries.
Lavrov himself said that he did not take part in the CIA director's meetings and does not know the details of the intelligence talks.
Moscow complained to the US about continued assistance to Ukraine
Meanwhile, Lavrov confirmed that the Russian side continues to ask Washington how involved the Trump administration is in military support for Ukraine.
According to him, over the past few months information has repeatedly appeared in Western media about new funding, arms supplies, and the transfer of American intelligence data to Ukraine.
Lavrov claims that after such reports, Moscow approaches the U.S. State Department through diplomatic channels with a request to confirm or deny the information, but receives no response.
It is against the backdrop of continued American support for Ukraine and new diplomatic contacts that Lavrov made it clear that Moscow fears a revision of previous agreements with Trump and insists on preserving the Russian interpretation of the conditions for ending the war.
