Lavrov at Primakov Readings Order, conflicts and Eurasia

Aug 15, 2025

In his complete prepared June 24 address, Lavrov marks IMEMO's seventieth anniversary and presents Primakov's multipolar approach as an alternative to Western dominance. He criticizes selective application of UN principles, NATO expansion, sanctions and the financial use of the dollar, while recalling the national-interest approach he says was agreed at the February 2025 Riyadh talks. He characterizes Maduro's capture and U.S. oil influence as coercion. He supports ongoing U.S.–Iran negotiations, offers Russian good offices if needed for a comprehensive long-term regional settlement and calls for free Hormuz navigation. He says Russia revised and circulated its Gulf collective-security concept in late May, outlining phased conflict resolution, confidence building and regional control over outside participation. He advocates a viable Palestinian state together with Israeli security, criticizes Gaza-only arrangements and recalls the Russian and Chinese abstentions at Arab and Palestinian request. On Ukraine he demands binding security, language and religious guarantees, rejects temporary fixes and says Russia remains committed to U.S.-proposed Anchorage understandings. He praises the Russia–China declaration adopted during Putin's recent state visit, relations with India, possible RIC revitalization and consensus-based BRICS and SCO cooperation. He backs the Greater Eurasian Partnership and an inclusive security architecture, saying the Russia–Belarus Eurasian Charter proposal will be discussed at the fourth Minsk conference. His descriptions of motives, rights, responsibility and agreements remain attributed assessments; the speech announces neither a peace settlement nor an adopted charter.

At the June 24, 2026 Primakov Readings, Lavrov says Putin accepted a U.S.-origin proposal at Anchorage with nuances and calls that acceptance a compromise, while also saying that Russia made no concessions there. He describes a staged path to ending hostilities and resolving other issues, rejects demands for more concessions and says Russia has received no follow-up response after American consultations with Europe and Ukraine. His address also blames Western pressure for blocking the understandings. In his September 26 press conference, Lavrov says Russia accepted U.S.-proposed Anchorage principles as a basis for further Ukraine work, accuses European leaders of discouraging Trump and says Ukraine refused the understandings. In another complete answer he explicitly calls the result an agreement Russia is ready to return to; this is his interpretation. At Valdai on October 1, Putin says he came to Anchorage accepting U.S. proposals after initially asking for time to think, but that the American side then said it needed to think. He later describes his acceptance as a change in Russia's position. These attributed descriptions of acceptance, obstruction and the unsettled American response remain together; none establishes a finalized peace agreement. In Bahrain on June 25, 2026, Rubio says a proposal was made at Anchorage but no agreement was reached, arguing that an agreement would have ended the war. Inter carries his direct statement and conditional offer of a constructive role. His denial remains alongside Lavrov's agreement/understanding language, June compromise/no-concessions assertions and absent U.S. follow-up, and Putin's accepted-proposal but unsettled-American-response account.