Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's participation in the fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2026 continued for nearly 2 hours. Before the panel, he met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Ankara and Moscow agreed on constructive cooperation to develop effective solutions to resolve crises.
The two discussed current issues in the Russian-Turkish dialogue and the main goals of trade, economic and energy cooperation.
As for the peace talks with Ukraine, their resumption is not priority #1 for Russia. “We have never imposed negotiations“, Lavrov specified. The Russian side does not avoid negotiations and is ready to consider the conditions. “When someone is ready, let them propose. "It remains to be seen whether the time is right, the place is right and what the agenda is," the Russian foreign minister said.
Lavrov noted that some countries are proposing, instead of NATO in its current format, "to create a bloc that would include the European Union, Turkey, Great Britain and Ukraine." "Moreover, Volodymyr Zelensky quickly embraced this idea. He said that Ukrainians would be the core, the heart, the guarantee of the success of this entire bloc," the minister noted. "Immediately after that, however, his chief of staff, Kirill Budanov, said in an interview: "We have nothing of our own. We fight with whatever they give us." So the leader of the bloc turns out to be quite peculiar," Lavrov added.
"We are observing something like a "coalition of the willing." I have a feeling that very soon this will turn into a “coalition of the unwilling“. I do not see how the national interests of European countries can be satisfied by imposing an openly revanchist, militarized policy“, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasized.
The European Union, the European Commission and its relations with Russia, especially the sanctions that directly affect the European economy, were also commented on by the high-ranking diplomat. He recalled the opinion of analysts and specialists from a number of fields that the current composition of the European Commission (EC) significantly exceeds its powers. “The actions of the current Commission, according to a growing number of politicians, lawyers and political scientists, significantly exceed the powers officially granted to the European Commission“, the Russian Foreign Minister noted.
“The presence in Europe of politicians such as the head of EU diplomacy Kaia Kallas inspires peace and confidence that the European peoples will recognize the true value of such leaders and will be able to give them what they deserve.
Lavrov recalled the famous, defiantly ignorant and absurd statement by Kallas that “over the past 100 years, Russia has attacked various countries 19 times, and some several times, and this, according to her, does not include African countries“.
“Personally, I am calm. As long as such people exist in this “European country”, we have hope that the peoples of European countries – historically civilized, educated, intelligent people – will know the value of such leaders. And then, when such leaders also strive to lead some pole in a multipolar, polycentric world, I believe that they will receive their deserved reward“, said the Foreign Minister.
The turn of the political scene in Hungary and the loss of Viktor Orbán in the elections were also in the focus of Lavrov's exposition. “Viktor Orbán himself has repeatedly emphasized, and we fully agree, when he was accused of being a pro-Russian politician, that he is a pro-Hungarian politician“, said the Russian Foreign Minister.
“How can you expect Viktor Orbán to like the current regime that is ruling Ukraine? And which from Kiev obviously rules the rest of the European Union, certainly the European Commission. I would not accuse him of pushing a pro-Russian agenda,“ the minister added.
Palestine and other similar conflicts should not be ignored, especially when we witness what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, Lavrov noted.
“Nobody mentions the West Bank, nobody talks about the fact that the Israeli leadership openly states that there will never be a Palestinian state,“ the Russian Foreign Minister said.
“When we look at what is happening in the Strait of Hormuz, I really would not want us to lose sight of the Palestinian issue, and, by the way, there are very complex processes taking place in Syria,“ Lavrov stressed.
According to him, “politicians and diplomats have no right to focus on something that is currently dominating the headlines just because someone wants it to be the main story“. "It would be a shame if the UN decision, the historic decision to create two states - a Jewish state and an Arab state of Palestine - were simply ignored and largely destroyed," the minister added.
Last but not least, the Russian Foreign Minister predicted that a number of countries will have to give up the habit of believing those who have lied to them more than once and the habit of imposing everything on the hegemon.
“A world based on rules is synonymous with a hegemon, a universal emperor. To what extent does this correspond to the expectations of what is called a multipolar world - I think we have not even reached the middle of this path, but are at its very beginning. This will be a historical era, a painful era, because habits will have to be abandoned“, said the Minister. “Some will have to give up the habit of imposing everything on everyone, of punishing everyone; others will have to give up the habit of hiding behind their father, their uncle and not taking responsibility for their own actions. Many habits will have to be abandoned“, concluded Lavrov.