Lavrov: Russia ready for Ukraine talks, but firm on NATO

On Sep 16, 2026

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addresses students of the Moscow State University for Foreign Relations on the opening of the school year known as the “Day of Knowledge” in Moscow, on Sept 7, 2026. (PHOTO/AP)

MOSCOW/KYIV – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia is ready to seek compromises on Ukraine but has never changed its position on preventing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO’s) presence on its borders.

“We are ready, within this position, to seek reasonable compromises, but fundamentally we have not changed our objectives — to ensure our security, to prevent NATO’s presence on our borders,” Lavrov said during an ambassadorial roundtable discussion on the Ukrainian settlement.

Lavrov added that Russia welcomes the US interest in facilitating a settlement in Ukraine. “The main thing is that the United States understands the root causes of this conflict, unlike all other Western countries,” he said.

Speaking of negotiation possibilities, Lavrov reaffirmed that Russia has never rejected talks and is prepared to hold talks in both a bilateral and trilateral format.

Russia strikes Ukrainian logistics infrastructure

Meanwhile, Russian forces conducted overnight group drone strikes on Ukraine’s logistics infrastructure, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

The targets included a logistics center used to store and distribute foreign military supplies in Velikaya Balka in the Odesa region, a dry cargo vessel and a ferry in the port of Chornomorsk, and the railway infrastructure in western Ukraine used to transport military supplies, the ministry said in a statement.

ALSO READ: Ukraine says ready to halt certain strikes if Russia does the same

Russian forces also intercepted 222 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, it said.

Ukrainian parliament ousts prosecutor-general

Separately, the Ukrainian parliament voted to dismiss Prosecutor-General Ruslan Kravchenko from his post, the parliament’s press service reported.

The motion, submitted by President Volodymyr Zelensky, received 317 votes in favor, with at least 226 required.

Kravchenko tendered his resignation last week after the National Anti-Corruption Bureau accused a deputy head of a department in the Prosecutor General’s Office of leading a criminal organization. Kravchenko himself was not officially named as a suspect in the case.

Kravchenko had served as Ukraine’s Prosecutor-General since June 2025.

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