The drama of the pause: Russia will not stop its peace talks
Moscow is ready only for a comprehensive conclusion of peace following the conflict in Ukraine. And Russia will not make any pauses in its negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on September 23. The first day of work of the Russian delegation at the High-level Week of the 81st session of the General Assembly of the organization was marked by Ukraine — first negotiations with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and then a meeting of the Security Council. How New York met Lavrov is in the "Izvestia" report.
The United States is worried about the "metastases" of the Ukrainian conflict
As in the past, in 2025, Lavrov and Rubio met at the luxurious Lotte Palace in downtown New York. Distinguished guests stay at the hotel every year. Only a 10-second start of the meeting was available to the press.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a meeting on the sidelines of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly
10 out of 10 American and Russian journalists: some calmly adhere to the rules of protocol, while others routinely shout questions at each other. Nobody figured out what they were asking. "Why were you so quiet?" the Russian minister responded with a smile.
The meeting lasted about 50 minutes. The parties preferred not to detail the substantive results of the negotiations. The State Department only confirmed that Sergey Lavrov and Marco Rubio discussed the conflict in Ukraine and bilateral relations between Russia and the United States. Rubio stressed after the meeting that he did not consider it right to retell closed-door negotiations in a transcript mode: "Such meetings generally do not work well if after the meeting I go out and run to tell the media: that's what we talked about, that's exactly what we discussed." Surprisingly, Americans were not usually so reserved.
At the same time, he outlined the fundamental signals. Thus, Washington continues to consider the topic of a possible limitation of strikes on energy facilities as part of a broader conversation about de-escalation. The day before, Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky discussed the energy pause. At the same time, previous statements and the events of recent days show how fragile the very idea of partial agreements is. After reports of commitments not to attack energy infrastructure, strikes against such targets continued.
Also, the United States does not want to reduce the settlement to short-term measures. According to Rubio, limited or temporary arrangements alone will not resolve the conflict. This logic coincides with Moscow's position, which has consistently stated that a cease-fire without addressing the root causes will not lead to sustainable peace.
Washington fears the geographical expansion of the crisis. Responding to a question about reports surrounding the incident in Germany (where a suspicious substance that could be explosive was found near the military airfield of Wunstorf in Lower Saxony; the discovery was made near the place where the damaged drone was found earlier), Rubio formulated the general concern of the West: "One of our many concerns about the war between Russia and In Ukraine, there is a danger that the conflict may metastasize and spread to other regions."
He explained that escalation can begin not only as a result of a conscious political decision, but also due to a hybrid attack, sabotage or mistake. "Some pilot flew the wrong way, and suddenly real fighting began," the Secretary of State said.
A few hours before the meeting, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov outlined Moscow's initial position very bluntly: "There are no prerequisites for a transition to a peaceful track, although the Russian side remains open to peaceful negotiations." He also stressed that a meeting of the leaders without preliminary expert study would be a "waste of time."
First, respect for all the interests of Moscow, then peace
In the afternoon, the Ukrainian issue moved from the hotel to the hall of the UN Security Council. The initiator of the meeting "Maintaining Peace and security of Ukraine" was France, which was represented by Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barraud. He called for direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, a cessation of hostilities, and demanded security guarantees for Kiev. But most of all, he talked about Vladimir Putin. It seemed that these walls had never heard the name of the Russian president so many times from one person.
The others were saying the same thing. It is noteworthy that the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrei Sibiga, remained in the hall at the time of Sergey Lavrov's speech. It is rare for them to be present in the same room. The Ukrainian delegation listened to Lavrov with headphones — the minister devoted a lot of time to how the Russian language was banned in Ukraine. He reminded me, by the way, that even in Israel it is possible to speak Farsi and Arabic and vice versa.
The Russian diplomat's speech was tough and instructive for those present. The main message is that Moscow has learned from bitter experience and will not pause in its negotiations for peace. We already made concessions once, and the West actively armed Kiev, and it regrouped, taking advantage of the respite. Lavrov talked a lot about the UN Charter and how it is selectively applied to resolve various controversial issues. He wished good luck to the UN secretariat, which will soon have to comment on the claims of the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to independence and a referendum on secession from the United Kingdom.
Obviously, the Security Council Hall will not be a place to resolve this conflict. As well as many others. There is hope for quiet diplomacy and Washington's efforts. If that's what they really want.
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