Lavrov says Russia's position on Ukraine has not changed ahead of the Abu Dhabi meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a press conference following the first day of the G20 summit in Atlanta, confirmed that Russia's demands for a settlement remain the same, and called, in his words, Kyiv's policy toward the Russian language and the “Nazi ideology” unacceptable. The statement came ahead of the upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 31 October 2026 at 02:082 min read

The key facts

Lavrov said Russia's position has “not changed” since the start of the special military operation
The statement was made on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta ahead of the talks in Abu Dhabi
Earlier, Lavrov claimed that Kyiv and Europe are not ready for settlement talks

Statement on the sidelines of the G20

Ahead of the upcoming talks in Abu Dhabi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia's demands for a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine remain unchanged. The remarks were made at a press conference following the first day of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, as reported by Life.ru.

Content of the position

“Our position has not changed; it has never changed since the start of the special military operation — its objectives were announced,” the outlet quotes the minister as saying. According to him, Moscow “does not accept” Ukraine posing a military threat to Russia's security interests, nor the West's plans to turn Ukraine into a “permanent threat.” Lavrov also called unacceptable, in his view, the situation of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine, saying that the Russian language is “banned by a number of laws,” and added that Russia does not accept the “Nazi ideology and policies” of the Ukrainian authorities.

Context: assessment of readiness for talks

The statement is consistent with Lavrov's earlier remark, cited by Life.ru, in which he claimed that Ukraine and the European states supporting it are not yet ready to discuss a settlement of the conflict. In his words, Russia would prefer to achieve its objectives at the negotiating table, but, in the minister's opinion, the necessary conditions for such a dialogue are not yet in place. Thus, Moscow's public position ahead of the meeting in Abu Dhabi remains unchanged: talks are possible, but, according to the Russian side, only if its stated demands are met.