Lavrov at the UN Security Council: Russia will not cease fire for talks with Ukraine

Russia does not intend to cease hostilities during possible negotiations on ending the war against Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this on Wednesday, September 23, during a meeting of the UN Security Council.

According to Lavrov, Moscow allows for a negotiation process, but does not consider a ceasefire as a mandatory condition for its start. Thus, the Russian side effectively rejects the proposed sequence in which a truce is first established, and then negotiations on a long-term settlement begin.

The statement came amid new international calls for Russia to agree to a ceasefire. Before the Security Council meeting, 50 states and the European Union issued a joint statement in support of Ukraine. Its participants reminded that Kyiv has agreed to a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire since March 2025, and called on Moscow to take the same step.

The signatories called a ceasefire a necessary stage for transitioning to meaningful diplomacy and negotiations on a comprehensive and sustainable peace. The statement was joined, in particular, by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, Italy, Canada and Japan, as well as the EU. The United States did not sign the document.

Moscow's position also differs from Kyiv's proposals on more limited options for de-escalation. President Volodymyr Zelensky previously said in New York that Ukraine is ready, in particular, for a mutual cessation of strikes on energy infrastructure provided that Russia takes a similar step.

The same day in New York, Lavrov met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. One of the central topics of the talks was the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war. After the meeting, Rubio said that the parties are showing interest in possible limited agreements on strikes on energy infrastructure and facilities related to grain exports.

At the same time, Lavrov's statement at the Security Council shows that Moscow still does not agree to a general cessation of hostilities as a preliminary stage of the negotiation process.