Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov delivered a speech and answered questions while attending an event in Yekaterinburg on September 16. He said that Russia is willing to conduct bilateral or tripartite negotiations on the Ukraine issue, but Russia has no illusions. He stressed that the interruption of previous rounds of negotiations was not due to Russian reasons. He also pointed out that in the field relating to national security, Russia will not and will not sign any agreement with Europe. At the same time, he mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin previously warned that if Europe attacks Russia, “it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short.” He hoped Europe had heard that warning. He also said that the European military presence in Ukraine would mean a direct war against Russia. Lavrov also said on the same day that in order to achieve comprehensive dialogue with the US, Russian-American relations must be completely normalized.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov delivered a speech and answered questions while attending an event in Yekaterinburg on September 16. He said that Russia is willing to conduct bilateral or tripartite negotiations on the Ukraine issue, but Russia has no illusions. He stressed that the interruption of previous rounds of negotiations was not due to Russian reasons. He also pointed out that in the field relating to national security, Russia will not and will not sign any agreement with Europe. At the same time, he mentioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin previously warned that if Europe attacks Russia, “it will be a completely different war, and it will be very short.” He hoped Europe had heard that warning. He also said that the European military presence in Ukraine would mean a direct war against Russia. Lavrov also said on the same day that in order to achieve comprehensive dialogue with the US, Russian-American relations must be completely normalized.