Russia’s Lavrov Says There Are “No Deadlines” for Peace Deal as Moscow Prioritizes Military Goals

Moscow is not in a hurry to finalize a peace deal with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested in comments to the Russian state media on February 26, signaling that Russia’s focus is on achieving its military goals rather than meeting deadlines.

Negotiators from both Russia and Ukraine were in Geneva on February 26 for separate talks with US officials, as part of an effort backed by US President Donald Trump to end the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.

However, several rounds of discussions have failed to yield a breakthrough, with Russia maintaining hardline territorial and political demands that Ukraine has rejected as capitulation.

Moscow’s refusal to commit to deadlines aligns with its long track record of violating treaties and using negotiations as a military tactic. According to Chatham House, Russia has broken multiple major security agreements by invading Ukraine—including the Budapest Memorandum—and has violated more than 17 different ceasefires since 2014.

Lavrov told state news agencies, “Have you heard anything from us about deadlines? We have no deadlines, we have tasks. We are getting them done.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov echoed Lavrov’s sentiment, stating that it was too early to make predictions about the peace process. “It would be a big mistake to try right now to define some kind of stage or make forecasts,” Peskov said, cautioning against speculation.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin to address critical issues, such as the fate of the contested territories in eastern Ukraine.

However, Peskov reiterated that Russia would not agree to a summit until negotiations had reached their final stages, with both sides agreeing on the terms of a potential deal.

Earlier, Russia’s chief negotiator in US-mediated talks with Ukraine in Geneva, Vladimir Medinsky, drew renewed scrutiny.

Analysts said the Kremlin aide was chosen to transmit the Vladimir Putin’s position, rather than negotiate independently.

Mark Galeotti, the British-based director of the consultancy Mayak Intelligence, described Medinsky as “essentially Putin’s hand puppet,” adding that he “has no angle or agenda of his own, but can simply be relied on to convey Putin’s message faithfully and report back faithfully.”

The talks ended without a breakthrough after two days of closed-door meetings, with Medinsky calling the negotiations “difficult but business-like” and saying another round would take place soon.

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