Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: Zelenskiy does not want to negotiate with Moscow

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made statements following the 9th Strategic Dialogue Foreign Ministers Meeting between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. When asked by journalists whether the diesel fuel agreement between Russia and the US was discussed at the meeting, Lavrov replied, “The diesel agreement between Moscow and Washington is a matter concerning Moscow and Washington. This agreement was considered a betrayal to Ukraine in the European Union. Zelenskiy says that the issue of exporting Russian diesel fuel should be resolved with him, as only he can permit it. This no longer falls within the realm of energy security but enters a new realm of farce.”

Lavrov stated that certain agreements were reached on the resumption of negotiations between Moscow and Kiev upon the proposal of US President Donald Trump, saying, “Despite this, Ukraine carried out attacks on civilian targets in Russia, specifically targeting civilian facilities and civilians. We draw only one conclusion from this: Zelenskiy does not want to negotiate. Zelenskiy obstructed the implementation of the agreements reached in Paris in 2019 and also ended the negotiations held in Istanbul in the summer of 2025.”