Lavrov rejects NATO path, calls for neutral Ukraine with guarantees, insisting that Kyiv must abandon ambitions of joining the Western alliance. In a new interview published on Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stressed that only neutrality with international security guarantees would ensure peace.
According to him, a group of guarantors including United Nations Security Council members should take responsibility for Ukraine’s security. He pointed to earlier discussions where Russia had demanded that Ukraine remain neutral, give up NATO membership, and exclude foreign troops from its territory.
Putin’s Demands for Neutral Ukraine
Reuters reported that President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to cede the eastern Donbas region, stay out of NATO, and accept permanent neutrality. Lavrov said these demands were not new, recalling the failed Istanbul talks of 2022, where a draft deal included guarantees from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council—Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States, as well as other countries.
Lavrov told NBC News’ Meet the Press that such an arrangement could still work. “And the guarantors would be guaranteeing the security of Ukraine, which must be neutral, which must be non-aligned with any military bloc and which must be non-nuclear,” he said, according to a transcript released by Russia’s foreign ministry.
Neutral Ukraine with Guarantees from Multiple Nations
The foreign minister also suggested that countries like Germany and Turkey could join the group of guarantors, giving the agreement wider international weight. But his firm rejection of NATO membership for Ukraine shows Moscow’s unwavering line. For Russia, the presence of NATO near its borders remains unacceptable.
Lavrov also emphasized that Russia would continue pressing for protection of Russian speakers in Ukraine and said territorial issues must still be resolved between Moscow and Kyiv.
Bottom Line
Lavrov rejects NATO path, calls for neutral Ukraine with guarantees, framing it as the only way to end the conflict on terms acceptable to Moscow. While he argues that neutrality with strong guarantors offers security, critics say it strips Ukraine of its sovereignty and forces the country into permanent vulnerability. The push for neutrality, once again, shows Russia’s demand for influence over its neighbor’s future.
