FM Lavrov, on Rubio’s denial of agreement at Alaska talks (There may have been no spirit whatsoever!)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s answer to a media question (Moscow, June 26, 2026)

💬 Question: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently said that during the meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska, where the situation around Ukraine was discussed, only a proposal on an approach to a settlement was put forward, and that no agreement had ever been reached there. Could you comment on this situation?

Sergey Lavrov: We are indeed receiving many questions on this subject. It is important to clarify the situation as we see it. I hope this will be clear to the audience.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that in Alaska there were only proposals, not agreements on the settlement in Ukraine. Therefore, allegedly, it is unclear why Moscow is so concerned. The point is that, if we look at the full picture, several days before the meeting in Alaska, US President’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow and brought those very proposals from President Donald Trump. We took them into consideration. President Vladimir Putin promised to give his response at the meeting in Alaska.

Already in Anchorage, when the two Presidents “sat down for talks” – Marco Rubio and I were also present – President Vladimir Putin, looking at Steve Witkoff, who was also in the room, began listing the US proposals point by point. After each point, in the presence of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vladimir Putin asked Steve Witkoff whether he had accurately captured the ideas that the latter had brought to Moscow ahead of Anchorage.

👉 Steve Witkoff answered each time in the affirmative. Therefore, when my colleague Marco Rubio says that there were only proposals in Alaska and no agreement, this raises a question for me as to what we mean by an agreement. If one Side – in this case, the US – puts forward its settlement proposals, its ideas on how to approach this crisis, and the other Side expresses consent to these proposals, then saying that there was no agreement does not sound particularly elegant.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said, while speaking at another event somewhere in the Middle East, that they are ready to step forward and play a constructive role, should they have such an opportunity. He said, in effect, that bringing the parties together and ending this war is what US President Donald Trump has been trying to do for a year and a half.

All of this can probably be taken as confirmation that in Alaska there were American proposals, and that we accepted them. But the quote I have just cited raises a question from another angle. I am referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s recent remarks at congressional hearings, when he said that the US could not be a mediator because it supports Ukraine.

Now, when Washington expresses interest in playing a constructive role and bringing the parties together, this already sounds like a bid for mediation.

❗️ Of course, this entire situation needs to be clarified. But the fact remains: US proposals were discussed in Alaska, and they were accepted by the Russian Side.