Lavrov: Crimea, Donbass and Novorossiya Were Never About Land Grab

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared that Moscow has never sought to seize Ukrainian territories but has consistently aimed to protect Russian people living there for centuries.

Russia Open to All Negotiation Formats

In an interview with Rossiya 24, Lavrov stressed that Russia does not reject any negotiation formats regarding a settlement with Ukraine, whether bilateral or trilateral. However, he underlined that any contacts at the highest level involving heads of state must be prepared with the utmost thoroughness.

“The key is not to organize multilateral formats for the sake of morning newspaper headlines, evening TV shows, or social media chatter,” Lavrov said. “They must be held to carefully prepare summits step by step, starting at the expert level and going through all necessary stages.”

No Territorial Ambitions

In a separate interview with VGTRK, Lavrov rejected the notion that Russia’s aim was the capture of land.

“I want to emphasize once again: we never talked about simply seizing some territories. Neither Crimea, nor Donbass, nor Novorossiya as territories were ever our goal,”

he said.

According to Lavrov, Russia’s guiding principle has been to protect the rights and safety of Russian people in these regions. He added that under Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, laws were passed that “eradicated the rights of Russian-speaking citizens.”

Recent Diplomatic Contacts

On August 15, Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump met in Alaska, calling the summit “useful and productive,” though without announcing specific agreements. Three days later, on August 18, Trump held talks in Washington with Zelensky and European leaders, and also spoke by phone with Putin.

The Kremlin, after the call, did not comment on a potential Putin–Zelensky meeting, but confirmed that the Russian and US presidents supported the idea of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv delegations and the possible upgrade of the level of representatives involved.