Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov may be looking to bring China into the ongoing negotiations as NATO leaders and Ukrainian officials convene this week to discuss security guarantees for Kyiv.
Lavrov suggested that Moscow was only interested in “truly reliable” guarantees for Ukraine, which he argued should be based on a 2022 draft accord that was discussed by Ukrainian and Russian negotiators during the early days of the war.
But the proposal never came to fruition due to a major sticking point for Kyiv, which argued that the plan gave Moscow too much power over its security.
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The proposal would have provided Ukraine with security guarantees provided by a group of nations, including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – of which Russia is a part of – which Kyiv said effectively gave Moscow veto powers over any future attempts to provide it with military aid.
China is also a member of the U.N. Security Council and has not only drawn international scrutiny for its refusal to condemn Russia’s illegal invasion, but has faced international rebuke over its support of Moscow during the war.
“Russia agrees that security guarantees for Ukraine be provided on an equal basis with the participation of countries such as China, the USA, Britain, and France,” Lavrov said Wednesday, according to a translation by Russian state media RIA in a post on Telegram.
Though it is unlikely that Ukraine would agree to a plan that would grant Russia, and possibly China, any authority over its future security, Beijing said it supports “fair and objective” peace talks.
“China did not create the Ukraine crisis, nor is China a party to it. Even so, China has since day one held an objective and fair position and promoted talks for peace,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital, pointing to the “four principles” peace plan that Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced in 2024.
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“China stands ready to, in light of the will of the parties concerned and together with the rest of the international community, continue playing a constructive role for the political settlement of the crisis,” Liu added.
Lavrov further accused NATO leaders of “unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the President of the United States personally” after they met with President Donald Trump on Monday in Washington, D.C.
Few details of the meetings have emerged as leaders from Europe, Ukraine and top Trump administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff, look to establish security terms for Ukraine in an attempt to end the war.
Though Lavrov, who has long made controversial comments, described the Monday meetings as “a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation” and “rather clumsy.”
A European diplomat involved in coordinating security guarantees with the U.S. told Fox News that Lavrov’s comments have largely been dismissed by Washington and NATO allies, and have done nothing to derail progress.
“It’s noise,” the diplomat said. “Monday’s display of unity behind Ukraine has put [Russian President Vladimir] Putin on the back foot. These comments point to typical Russian game playing and untrustworthiness – at a time they would do well to engage seriously with President Trump’s push for peace.”
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“Lavrov has long done this,” the official added.
The White House also told Fox News that comments coming from Russian officials are largely being ignored unless they come straight from Putin.
