Sergey Lavrov says Western governments are "imitating a willingness to negotiate" on Ukraine war

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in July 2026 that Moscow no longer believes Western governments genuinely want to end the war in Ukraine, citing their conduct toward negotiations. His comments came amid a broader Russian push on the issue: Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing that the 2022 discovery of civilian bodies in Bucha was a manufactured incident arranged by Western backers of Kyiv who opposed talks then proceeding in Istanbul — a characterization Ukrainian and Western officials reject, describing the deaths as evidence of Russian war crimes, which Moscow denies. Zakharova said she doubted the UN Security Council would authorize an impartial inquiry and accused Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of joining an anti-Russian campaign. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in August 2026 that negotiations had stalled and no fresh proposals had emerged.