Russia has again stated that peace in Ukraine will only be possible if Kyiv abandons its NATO membership ambitions, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
Speaking in an interview with former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, Lavrov outlined Moscow’s demands, including the exclusion of NATO forces, foreign military bases, and joint exercises from Ukrainian soil.
The interview, recorded in Moscow, was published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on 6 December. Lavrov reaffirmed Moscow’s insistence on Ukraine recognising the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia as Russian territory, adding that Russia is defending its “legitimate interests.” He also warned that the West’s continued attempts to cross Moscow’s “red lines” would be a “serious mistake.”
Lavrov referenced Russia’s recent test of its Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile, describing it as proof of the country’s readiness to use all means to prevent a “strategic defeat” by the West. The missile was reportedly used on 21 November to strike a weapons factory in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. President Vladimir Putin said the attack was in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian military facilities using Western-supplied missiles.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, after years of tension over NATO expansion. President Putin declared the aim of the “special military operation” to be the “demilitarisation and denazification” of Ukraine. Despite Moscow claiming sovereignty over several regions, including Crimea, annexed in 2014, it has faced strong resistance from Kyiv, which has vowed to restore its territorial integrity.
