Lavrov says Russia will weigh US proposals on economic merit but make 'no political concessions', and expects 'no miracle' from Washington

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow would consider proposals from US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner but would make no political concessions, speaking on Tuesday 20 October at a meeting with graduates who had recently joined Russia’s diplomatic service, Anadolu Agency and Kommersant reported.

“We shall see what they propose. If they offer something that is economically and financially advantageous to us, then why not?” Lavrov said, according to Anadolu. He said this must be done “without any political concessions on our part” and that Russia “does not expect any miracle from Washington”, Kommersant reported (our translation). “We must rely solely on ourselves,” he said.

Lavrov said Russia’s priority was to remove threats “on the western direction”, which he attributed to a war “unleashed against Russia by the West” through Ukraine, according to Kommersant. Ukraine and its Western partners describe the war as a Russian invasion.

Referring to US President Donald Trump’s waiver of Russia sanctions and tariffs, Lavrov said Washington wanted to keep global energy markets from a deep crisis before the US elections and was “fine with Russian diesel fuel continuing to be supplied”, Anadolu reported. He said US presidents are not bound by their predecessors’ decisions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia’s position on an “energy ceasefire” was unchanged: “We need peace, not a truce,” TASS reported. He said a settlement was impossible without “a responsible decision” by someone in Kyiv.

See also: Putin tells Witkoff Russia is ready in principle to resume three-way talks.