Lavrov says Russia will continue attacking Ukraine during peace negotiations

Moscow rejects a negotiating pause

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would not stop military operations against Ukraine while negotiations to end the war were under way. His September 12 statement establishes a clear Russian negotiating position: diplomacy may proceed, but it will not automatically suspend attacks. That conflicts directly with Kyiv’s argument that an unconditional ceasefire is necessary to make negotiations credible and protect civilians while political questions are discussed.

Lavrov also dismissed the proposed G20 summit in Miami as a suitable venue for a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, maintaining that talks should take place in Moscow. Kyiv has repeatedly rejected Moscow as a viable location. The dispute is therefore not merely about scheduling. It concerns security guarantees, the status of the participants and whether either side would enter leader-level talks without prior military restraint.

A fragile American mediation track

The disagreement follows renewed US diplomacy involving presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ukraine’s presidency said the envoys worked with the Russian side before travelling to Kyiv, where Zelenskyy argued that restarting negotiations remained important. Those contacts did not produce an announced breakthrough, but they kept open the prospect of further bilateral or trilateral engagement.

Ukraine had already offered a narrower confidence-building measure. Zelenskyy said Kyiv was prepared to observe a reciprocal halt to air attacks on cities connected with the negotiating process. That proposal fell short of a comprehensive ceasefire, but it provided a test of whether limited restraint could be monitored and expanded. Lavrov’s new insistence that Russia will not suspend its war during talks makes even that preliminary step more uncertain.

What the disagreement means

Continuing attacks while negotiating gives Russia military leverage but increases the risk that civilian casualties or damage to infrastructure will derail diplomacy. It also complicates Washington’s effort to present renewed contacts as a process capable of changing conditions on the ground. Ukraine, meanwhile, must decide whether to remain at the table without the ceasefire it has described as a prerequisite for meaningful progress.

The next indicators will be whether US envoys announce another round, whether Russia accepts any limited reciprocal restraint, and whether a neutral venue can be found for higher-level talks. No ceasefire has been agreed or taken effect. Lavrov’s declaration is therefore a diplomatic development, not an eligible ceasefire or strike alert.