Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lauded United States President Donald Trump for his “common sense” approach to ending the war in Ukraine, while accusing European nations of prolonging the conflict, Reuters reported. Speaking to the Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, Lavrov said Trump’s practicality and his goal to “Make America Great Again” reflect a shift in how the US engages with global conflicts.
Lavrov’s statement comes days after Trump engaged in a verbal spat with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. The confrontation began at the 40th minute of a 50-minute exchange between the two leaders, which ended with Trump telling Zelenskyy to return when he is “ready for peace”.
“Donald Trump is a pragmatist,” Lavrov said, according to a transcript released by the Russian Foreign Ministry. “His slogan is common sense. It means, as everyone can see, a shift to a different way of doing things.”
Lavrov acknowledged that while Washington and Moscow would never fully align on global issues, both sides had agreed to be pragmatic where interests converged. He suggested that the US-China relationship could serve as a model for Russia-US relations, emphasizing mutually beneficial cooperation without escalating disputes into war.
Russia’s criticism of Europe
Lavrov sharply criticized European nations for what he described as their role in perpetuating the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters. He pointed to the continent’s history of conflicts, stating that Europe had been the source of “all the tragedies of the world” over the past 500 years, citing colonialism, the Crusades, the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and Adolf Hitler’s regime as examples.
“And now, after [former US President Joe] Biden’s term, people have come in who want to be guided by common sense. They say directly that they want to end all wars, they want peace,” Lavrov said, as per Reuters. “And who demands a ‘continuation of the banquet’ in the form of a war? Europe.”
Lavrov also dismissed proposals for European peacekeepers in Ukraine, asserting that Russia had no trust in Kyiv following the collapse of the Minsk agreements.
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Russia’s perspective on Ukraine conflict
Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, marking the most significant confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War. The war, which began in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea, has led to tens of thousands of casualties and widespread destruction.
Moscow has framed the conflict as part of an existential struggle against a declining Western influence, as per Reuters. Putin has long accused NATO of expanding its military presence near Russia’s borders and claims that the West has deliberately humiliated Russia since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
With the war now in its third year, Russia has maintained control over nearly one-fifth of Ukraine, while Kyiv continues to receive military and financial support from Western allies.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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