Lavrov stated the desire of the United States to prevent Ukraine from being drawn into NATO

The United States wants to stop any scenarios of Ukraine joining NATO, and Russia sees this. This was announced on January 24 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following talks with his counterpart from Namibia, Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, in Moscow.

"From our previous contacts with the United States, starting with the Anchorage summit and during subsequent contacts through <...> [special envoy of US President Donald Trump Stephen] According to Witkoff and [the son—in-law of the American leader] Jared Kushner, we see that the United States understands the unreality of such a scenario, and they want to stop any attempts to involve Ukraine in NATO," he said.

Lavrov also announced Moscow's readiness for further contacts with representatives of the American administration, including Witkoff and Kushner, amid reports of possible visits by American representatives to Russia.

In addition, Lavrov stressed that Russia would be interested to hear about the impressions of the United States after their communication with the so-called "coalition of willing" from European countries.

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On January 13, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called Ukraine's goal in the current conflict to survive, not to win. He also said that the West's task is to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table.

At the same time, political analyst Ruslan Bortnik reported that significant pressure was being exerted on the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, to agree to a deal with Russia. He also noted that the refusal to negotiate with Moscow could jeopardize the existence of Ukrainian statehood.

In turn, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on December 31, 2025, that the West was horrified by the collapse of their public concept of victory over Russia. According to her, the Western states themselves rejected offers of cooperation, curtailing all contacts and becoming isolated.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.