Sergei Lavrov Quotes

On September 11, 2001, Russia’s then-president, Vladimir Putin, called U.S. President George W. Bush – making Putin the first international leader to speak with Bush after the attacks.

You cannot strengthen the law by violating the law.

If you say that your national law allows you to do something, it is fine as long as you do this inside your own territory. As long as you go international, you really have to be sure that there is an international law which you respect and which you follow.

I hope that the United States would cooperate with the partners to reduce its debt. The debt is a problem. The debt is with you, but unfortunately, the debt is not only with you but with us and with the rest of the world because we all, one way or another, are dependent on the dollar.

Sanctions are a sign of irritation; they are not the instrument of serious policies.

The Americans have taken the course of confrontation and do not assess their own steps critically at all.

Russia and the U.S. bear a special responsibility in world affairs. We have much to offer the rest of the world. Our common history testifies to this, and modern challenges demand that we work together.

With regards to the expansion of NATO, I see it as a mistake, even a provocation in a way.

Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation.

Frankly speaking, we don’t see any other way for the steady development of the Ukrainian state apart from as a federation.

All our security now depends on the wise decisions and cooperation of our leaders.

Shouldn’t the General Assembly adopt a declaration on the inadmissibility of interference into domestic affairs of sovereign states and nonrecognition of coup d’etats as a method of the change of power?

If you think that a coup to overthrow the elected government is a coup everywhere, then you should remember how elections in Ukraine took place in 2004, how elections in Georgia took place in 2003, when the elections results have been torn and thrown away by revolutionary action.

I don’t think you can perpetrate war crimes with defensive weapons, with air defense systems.

Do not form your judgment about our military doctrine from the assessments given by NATO representatives.

Humanitarian issues must bring together all people who act in good faith trying to alleviate the suffering of people in dire need – especially women, children and the elderly.

Russia would prefer to rebuild trust rather than allow it to further corrode. That’s why, in July 2007, President Putin, in the spirit of strategic openness, proposed a truly collective effort at missile defense for Europe.

Regarding the visa-free regime, it has undoubtedly become a problem for the European Union, above all in terms of its capacity to reach agreements.

We can say that Japan is the only country that calls into question the outcome of the Second World War; no one else does.

It is absolutely unacceptable to talk to Russia – or anyone for that matter – in the language of ultimatums and coercive measures.

The international community unfortunately did take sides in Libya, and we would never allow the Security Council to authorise anything similar to what happened in Libya.

I don’t want to say that sanctions are ridiculous and that we couldn’t care less; these are not pleasant things… We find little joy in that, but there are no painful sensations. We have lived through tougher times.

We feel no isolation. But, having said that, I want to emphasise in particular that we do not want to go to extremes and abandon the European and American directions in our foreign economic cooperation.

If you look at U.S. Congress, 80 percent of them have never left the U.S.A., so I’m not surprised about Russophobia in Congress.

People versed in politics need not be told that the devil is in the detail, and tough solutions implying the use of force cannot produce a lasting long-term settlement.

Russia and the U.S. have unique experience in ensuring the safety and security of nuclear material.

We still believe that if the Russian Federation and the United States bring their minds together, we can develop a common system which would be efficient in protecting the Euro–Atlantic region from threats coming outside this region.

I don’t believe in ideology in international relations.

We are not wedded to anyone in Syria. We are not concerned with any personality. We are concerned with keeping Syria in one piece, territorially integral, sovereign, independent and secular, where the rights of all groups, ethnic and others, are fully respected.

Every country has its political face and political traditions.

There’s no room for petty grievances in politics.

The attempts to distort the truth and to hide the facts behind blanket accusations have been undertaken at all stages of the Ukrainian crisis.

Attempts to settle crises by unilateral sanctions outside the framework of U.N. Security Council decisions threaten international peace and stability. Such attempts are counterproductive and contradict the norms and principles of international law.

The jihadists come from many European countries, Russia included, and some even from the United States; hundreds of them – if you take Europe, Russia and the U.S. – are fighting in the ranks of extremist groups.

Russia has done more than any other country to support the independent Ukrainian state, including for many years subsidising its economy through low energy prices.

Russia is doing all it can to promote early stabilisation in Ukraine.

We are convinced that the only way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue is through negotiations.

You cannot defeat Islamic State with airstrikes only. It’s necessary to cooperate with ground troops, and the Syrian army is the most efficient and powerful ground force to fight the Islamic State.

Crimea was not a non-nuclear zone in an international law sense but was part of Ukraine, a state which doesn’t possess nuclear arms.

We have absolutely no intention of, or interest in, crossing Ukraine’s borders.

We are certain that Ukraine needs profound constitutional reform. In all fairness, we can’t see any other way to ensure the stable development of Ukraine but to sign a federal agreement.

A second opinion never hurts, not only in medicine, but also in politics.

I know that Britain and the United States and others ship arms in the Middle East, 10 or maybe 100 times more than the Russian does.

If our interests – our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians – have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia, for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law.