During his summer vacations, Lavrov also worked in his university's student construction brigades inKhakassia,Tuva and theRussian Far East. Each semester, Lavrov with his fellow students conducted drama performances, which were later presented on the main stage of the university. During the third year of his studies, Lavrov was married.[14]
Career
Soviet diplomat in Sri Lanka (1972–1975)
Lavrov graduated in 1972. According to the rules of that time, a graduate of theMoscow State Institute of International Relations had to work for the Foreign Ministry for a certain amount of time. Lavrov was employed in the Soviet embassy inSri Lanka as an advisor, as he was already a specialist on the country. At the time, the Soviet Union and Sri Lanka had close market and economic cooperation and the Soviet Union launched the production ofnatural rubber in the country.[14]
The Soviet embassy in Sri Lanka also maintained relations with the Maldives. The embassy in Sri Lanka employed only 24 diplomats. Lavrov was given the task of continuously analysing the situation in the country, but he also worked as a translator, personal secretary and assistant toRafiq Nishonov, who would later become the12th First Secretary of the Communist Party of Uzbek SSR. In addition, he gained the diplomatic rank of anattaché.[14]
USSR Section for International Economic Relations and the UN
In 1976, Lavrov returned to Moscow. He worked as a third and second secretary in the Section for International Economic Relations of the USSR. There, he was involved in analytics and his office also worked with various international organizations, including theUnited Nations.
In 1988, Lavrov returned to Moscow and was named Deputy Chief of the Section for International Economic Relations of the USSR. Between 1990 and 1992 he worked as Director of the International Organization of the Soviet Foreign Ministry.[14]
Soviet-to-CIS transition (1992–1994)
In October 1991,Andrey Kozyrev, who was in charge of monitoring international organizations at the time, was named Foreign Minister of theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR). In that year, the powers of the Soviet Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Ministry of the Russian SFSR were distributed. Until then the Russian SFSR had only a ceremonial role. In October 1992, the foreign ministers of all Soviet republics, exceptGeorgia and theBaltic states, held a meeting where they dealt with the Union of Foreign Ministries.[14]
In November 1991, the State Council decided to change its name from the Union of Foreign Ministries to the Foreign Ministry of the Soviet Union. In April 1992, he was named deputy foreign minister.[14]
In December 1991, the Foreign Ministry of Soviet Russia became the Foreign Ministry of theRussian Federation.
In 1992, Lavrov was named director of the Department for International Organizations and Global Issues in the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation.[14]
Lavrov was asked to oversee the activities of the Human Rights and International Cultural Cooperation and the two departments – for theCIS countries, international organizations and international economic cooperation.[14]
Lavrov was promoted to the diplomatic rank of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary — the highest diplomatic rank in the Russian Federation — by the Decree of the thenPresident of Russia,Boris Yeltsin, on 5 June 1992 No. 568.[15]
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN (1994–2004)
Lavrov worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 1994 when he returned to work in theUnited Nations, this time as the Permanent Representative of Russia. While in the latter position, he was the President of theUnited Nations Security Council in December 1995, June 1997, July 1998, October 1999,[16] December 2000, April 2002, and June 2003.[17]
Foreign minister of Russia (2004–present)
Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, 17 September 2004Lavrov Meets with PresidentGeorge W. Bush in the Oval Office of the White House, 7 March 2006Lavrov Meets with PresidentBarack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House, 7 May 2009Lavrov with Ukrainian Foreign MinisterKostyantyn Gryshchenko in Kyiv, 10 April 2010Lavrov with US Secretary of StateHillary Clinton, Munich, Germany, on 5 February 2011
On 9 March 2004, PresidentVladimir Putin appointed Lavrov to the post of minister of foreign affairs.[5] He succeededIgor Ivanov in the post.
Lavrov is regarded as continuing in the style of his predecessor: a brilliant diplomat but a civil servant rather than a politician. ARussian foreign policy expert at London'sChatham House has described him as "a tough, reliable, extremely sophisticated negotiator" but adds that "he's not part ofPutin's inner sanctum" and that the toughening of Russian foreign policy has got very little to do with him.[18]
US politicians have been much more critical in their appraisal of Lavrov, seeing him as emblematic of President Putin's resurgent violent foreign policies. Then USSecretary of StateHillary Clinton found that Lavrov treated her poorly during negotiations, like a "jerk."[19] SeveralObama administration officials interviewed for a profile on Lavrov described him as an “anti-diplomat” with “nothing redeemable” about his “uncharismatic, offensive, uncompromising, cruel, unlikeable, brusque, caddish” character.[20]
In 2012, in the early stages of theSyrian Civil War, a Russian delegation travelled to Syria to affirm Russia's backing of the Syrian government of the PresidentBashar al-Assad. Lavrov andMikhail Fradkov, who were part of the delegation, were given a favourable welcome by thousands of pro-Assad supporters. The supporters waved Russian flags in thanks to Russia's veto of a UN resolution calling for tough sanctions on the Syrian government.[23]
In September 2013, then Secretary of StateJohn Kerry and Lavrov reached a breakthrough agreement that would destroy almost allchemical weapons stored in Assad's Syria. The deal was reached after three challenging rounds of talks inGeneva,Switzerland. Soon after, Syria fully accepted this plan, and by June 2014 all chemical weapons submitted by the Syrian government were safely incinerated in the Eastern Mediterranean. The director general of theOrganisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at theUnited Nations declared that this treaty was a major benchmark.[24][25]
In October 2019, Lavrov condemnedDonald Trump's decision to send American troops to guardSyria's oil fields and possibly exploit them, saying that any "exploitation of natural resources of a sovereign state without its consent is illegal".[26]
Following theannexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, on 30 March 2014 Lavrov proposed that Ukraine should be independent of any bloc, that the Russian language be recognized officially, and that the constitution be organized along federal lines.[28] In an interview with theRussia-24 TV channel, Lavrov said that thezero-sum "either-or" bloc-politics of Ukraine were first suggested in 2004 byKarel De Gucht, then Foreign Minister of Belgium.[29]
WhenG8 leaders voted to officially suspend Russia's membership on 24 March, Lavrov stated that the G8 was an informal organization and membership was optional for Russia.[30]
In a 30 March interview, he spoke of the21 February agreement which was signed byViktor Yanukovich,Vitaly Klitchko,Arseniy Yatsenyuk, andOleg Tyagnibok as well as the Foreign Ministers of Poland, France and Germany to promote peaceful changes in Ukrainian power. Lavrov stressed federalism as a solution to the constitutional impasse in Ukraine, and deplored thede-officialisation of the Russian language. He noticed the work of the secretariat of theCouncil of Europe at theVenice Commission to prevent a legitimation of the Crimean referendum, and to expel Russia. Lavrov was "taken aback" when US PresidentBarack Obama called Russia a "regional power". He deplored the misuse of theSchengen Agreement to force Crimeans to visitKyiv in order to gain a Schengenvisa, and noticed that the EU proposes a visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens. Lavrov stated that theRevolution of Dignity in Kyiv and the results of the Crimean referendum should both be accepted equally by the West. He reiterated the three-part Russian proposal for the progress of Ukraine:
Constitutional federalism
Recognition of linguistic minorities
That Ukraine be a non-aligned state
The Kyiv government on 30 March denounced Lavrov's proposals as amounting to "the complete capitulation of Ukraine, its dismemberment, and the destruction of Ukrainian statehood.[31]
While Lavrov acknowledged that Russia is in contact with theUkrainian separatist rebels he denied US and EU allegations that Moscow sponsored the rebellion and accused the United States of aggravating the conflict. "Our American colleagues still prefer to push the Ukrainian leadership toward a confrontational path." He added that chances for settling the Russo-Ukrainian war would have been higher if it only depended on Russia and Europe.[32] Lavrov said the separatists want to "defend their culture, their traditions, celebrate their holidays rather than anniversaries ofRoman Shukhevych andStepan Bandera."[33]
In June 2016, Lavrov stated that Russia will never attack anyNATO country, saying: "I am convinced that all serious and honest politicians know perfectly well than Russia will never attack a member state of NATO. We have no such plans."[34] He also said: "In our security doctrine it is clearly stated that one of the main threats to our safety is the further expansion of NATO to the east."[34]
2017 North Korea crisis
Lavrov likened the war of words between US PresidentDonald Trump and North Korean leaderKim Jong-un to a kindergarten fight between two children, saying "Together with China we'll continue to strive for a reasonable approach and not an emotional one like when children in a kindergarten start fighting and no-one can stop them."[35]
Lavrov also said that the United States would not carry out a strike on North Korea because "they know for sure – rather than suspect – that it has atomic bombs." He said theUS invaded Iraq "solely because they had 100 percent information that there were no weapons of mass destruction left there."[36]
US sanctions
Lavrov criticizedUS sanctions against countries likeIran,Turkey and Russia. In August 2018, Lavrov said, "unilateral enforcement measures are illegitimate in international affairs" [...]. "One way to counter these illegitimate barriers and restrictions is we can use national currencies on our bilateral trade". "I strongly believe that abuse of the role the U.S. dollar plays as an international currency will eventually result in its role being undermined".[37]
Lavrov condemnedUkraine's 2017education law, which makesUkrainian theonly language of education in state schools. According to Lavrov, the "reaction of Brussels to the Ukrainian Law on Education is utterly vague although it crudely violates Kyiv's commitments on linguistic and educational rights."[41] Russia's Foreign Ministry stated that the law is designed to "forcefully establish a mono-ethnic language regime in a multinational state."[42]
Non-citizens in Latvia and Estonia
As early as 2011 Lavrov criticized the status of "non-citizens" inLatvia andEstonia, calling the problem of Russian speaking stateless persons "shameful for the EU."[43][41][44]
NATO's Defender-Europe 2021
In 2021, Lavrov was critical of a massiveNATO-led military exercise called Defender-Europe 21,[45] one of the largestNATO-led military exercises in Europe in decades, which began in March 2021. It included "nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas" inEstonia,Bulgaria,Romania and other countries.[46][47] He said that Russia's response was inevitable.[45]
In January 2022, the United States accused Russia of sendingsaboteurs into Ukraine to stage "a false-flag operation" that would create a pretext for Russia to invade Ukraine. Lavrov dismissed the US claim as "total disinformation".[48] On 4 February 2022, Lavrov dismissed as "nonsense" and "craziness" allegations by the United States that Russia was preparing a fake video of the Ukrainian forces attacking the separatist-heldDonbas as a pretext for starting a war in Ukraine.[49] On 10 February 2022, Lavrov met with British Foreign SecretaryLiz Truss. In the context of tensions between Russia and the West over a build up of Russian troops near theRussia–Ukraine border talks between the two foreign ministers were described as "difficult". Lavrov denied that Russia has any plans to invade Ukraine.[50] He described Western "demands to remove Russian troops from Russian territory" as "regrettable".[51]
In August 2022, 'Foreign Policy' reported Western diplomats stating that Lavrov has no real influence on Russia's foreign policy and has become a merepropagandist and mouthpiece for Putin.[52] Regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine, foreign policy expertAngela Stent said: "As far as we know, Lavrov himself only knew [the invasion] was happening as it was taking place."[53] According to sources close to the Kremlin, Lavrov was informed of Putin's plan to attack Ukraine at short notice before the invasion.[54]
On 25 February 2022, the day after Russia began aninvasion of Ukraine, Lavrov claimed that Putin ordered the invasion to "free Ukrainians from oppression".[55] The same day, the US, UK, EU and Canada announced sanctions against Lavrov as well as Putin.[56][57] The US added Lavrov to theSpecially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.[58] On 26 February, Australia announced similar sanctions on Lavrov.[59] On 1 March most diplomats at theUnited Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva staged a walkout in protest at the Russian invasion of Ukraine as Lavrov began to speak to the assembly via video from Moscow.[60] Lavrov criticized the West on some policies relating to Ukraine, denouncing his prevention on flying to Geneva due to the ban on Russian aircraft on EU airspace as "Trying to avoid a candid face-to-face dialogue or direct contacts designed to help identify political solutions to pressing international issues." He was also quoted "The West clearly has lost self-control in venting anger against Russia and has destroyed its own rules and institutions."[61] Lavrov, who read from a prepared text,[60] repeatedPutin's 23 February goal statement: "The goal of our actions is to save people by fulfilling our allied obligations, as well as todemilitarize anddenazify Ukraine so that such things never happen again."[62]
On 25 February 2022, Lavrov claimed that "available statistics confirm" that "no strikes are being made on civilian infrastructure."[63]
On 2 March 2022, Lavrov explained in an interview withAl Jazeera, Moscow, how the invasion of Ukraine came about in the context of an international crisis that already existed well before 2014. According to him, Russia had to annexe the Crimea in 2014 due to the unacceptable risk that NATO naval bases would replace the Russian military port there. He primarily contests the legitimacy of the putsch againstViktor Yanukovych, who according to the Russian leadership already initiated "peace" in Ukraine, with respect to all Russian speaking minorities. He accuses the West of not supporting the special status of those minorities, before Yanukovych was deposed by theOrange Revolution in 2004–2005. He continued that Zelenskyy did not improve the situation any further, and that Putin had to order the invasion of Ukraine, because the US did not comply or even address the security concerns of Russia's western flank. Lavrov claimed the US exerted similar pressures on Iraq in 2003, which the US invaded later for no reason other than "a vial of unidentified chemicals". At the same time, Lavrov tries to portray the current Ukrainian government as "nationalistic" and "right wing" because it does not incorporate historical and linguistic ties to Russia into national policies, and only excels to separate itself from a shared history and culture.[64]
A residential building in the settlement ofBorodianka (Kyiv Oblast) after theRussian bombing of Borodianka on 2 March 2022. Lavrov claimed that Russia "did not attack Ukraine".[65]
On 28 March 2022, he praised the relations between Russia andChina as the best in history.[67] On 1 April 2022, he met withIndian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi and said that Russia "appreciates" India's neutral position on the war in Ukraine.[68][69]
On 7 April 2022, theUnited Nations General Assembly in New York voted to suspend Russia from the UNHRC over its behaviour in Ukraine: "93 members voted in favour of the diplomatic rebuke while 24 were against and 58 abstained. This met the required threshold of a two-thirds majority of the assembly members that vote yes or no, with abstentions not counting in the calculation."Linda Thomas-Greenfield had spearheaded the effort andDmytro Kuleba thought it appropriate and published his thanks while UK Ambassador James Roscoe observed of the Putin administration who tried to quit the body after the fact that it sounded "like someone that's just been fired tendering their resignation."[70] On 25 April, Lavrov accused NATO of fighting aproxy war with Russia that could escalate into aglobal conflict withnuclear weapons.[71] US Defense SecretaryLloyd Austin said that "it's unhelpful and dangerous to rattle sabers and speculate about the use of nuclear weapons."[72]
On 1 May 2022, in an interview with the Italian television broadcasterRete 4,[73] Lavrov was asked why Russia claimed it needed to "denazify" Ukraine, considering the Ukrainian president himself,Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish. Lavrov responded by suggesting thatAdolf Hitler, like Zelenskyy, had Jewish heritage, saying "as to [Zelenskyy's] argument of what kind of nazification can we have if I'm Jewish, if I remember correctly, and I may be wrong, Hitler also had Jewish blood."[74][75][76] Lavrov elaborated "for some time we have heard from the Jewish people that the biggestantisemites were Jewish." Israeli prime ministerNaftali Bennett condemned Lavrov's comments and said that "usingthe Holocaust of the Jewish people as a political tool must cease immediately".[75][77] On 5 May, Bennett's office issued a statement saying: "The Prime Minister accepted President Putin's apology for Lavrov's remarks and thanked him for clarifying his attitude towards the Jewish people and the memory of the Holocaust".[78] Lavrov was criticized byDeborah Lipstadt for the remarks.[79]
On 14 May 2022, Lavrov used the phrase "total hybrid war" in the course of describing the West's efforts to help Ukraine combat the 2022 Russian invasion.[80]
On 6 June 2022, according toVečernje novosti, Sergey Lavrov was due to visit the Serbian capital, Belgrade. However the countries ofBulgaria,North Macedonia, andMontenegro, which surround Serbia, refused Lavrov permission to use their airspace, which led to the cancellation of the visit.[81]
In July 2022, Lavrov stated that Russia's goal was tooverthrow the pro-Western government in Ukraine,[82] but later said thatpeace would only be achieved if Ukraine recognized Russia's sovereignty over theconquered and annexed regions of Ukraine.[83]
On 16 June 2022, in an interview with theBBC'sSteve Rosenberg, Lavrov stated that Russia did not invade Ukraine, but instead "declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act." He again repeated the Kremlin's claim that there were Nazis in Ukraine. Lavrov was also asked about a report by the United Nations on an incident involving the Russian military inYahidne, Ukraine. Lavrov replied: "It's a great pity but international diplomats, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Secretary-General and other UN representatives, are being put under pressure by the West. And very often they're being used to amplify fake news spread by the West. Russia is not squeaky clean. Russia is what it is. And we are not ashamed of showing who we are."[84]
On 8 July 2022, Lavrov left theG20 summit of foreign ministers inBali,Indonesia because he disliked the questions about the invasion of Ukraine. He left when German foreign ministerAnnalena Baerbock began her formal address. Ukraine sympathizers refused to join a group photo with Lavrov, who seemed perplexed at the criticism.[85][86]
On 20 July 2022, Lavrov publicly confirmed that Russia had as a goal not only to "liberate" the Donbas region, but also to occupy the Kherson region, the Zaporizhzhia region and several other territories, supposedly as a response to Ukraine receiving weapons support from abroad.[87] On 26 July 2022, he said: "We are determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime,"[88]
On 11 September 2022, Lavrov said that he has not given up on the idea of peace talks with Kyiv.[89] According to his views, "the longer this process is delayed, the harder it will be to reach an agreement." Kyiv and Moscow have held intermittent peace talks since late February 2022, sponsored by Russia's foreign ministry.[90]
One week before the2022 Russian mobilization, Lavrov assured the Russians that there would be no mobilization or martial law.[92]
On 23 September 2022, Lavrov attended the annualU.N. General Assembly meeting in New York City, after he received permission to travel to the United States. The Russian foreign minister regretted that he was not able to attend the full presentation by US Secretary of StateAntony Blinken. Lavrov attempted to convince the audience that 'countries supplying weapons to Ukraine and training its soldiers were parties to the conflict'.[93] He said that Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine would be under Russia's "full protection" if they areannexed by Russia.[94] Lavrov again falsely claimed that the elected government in Ukraine was illegitimately installed and filled with neo-Nazis. Ukraine's Foreign MinisterDmytro Kuleba said Lavrov's comments aboutusing nuclear weapons were "irresponsible" and "absolutely unacceptable".[95]
On 14 November, theAssociated Press reported, citing Indonesia officials, that Lavrov had been admitted to hospital with a heart condition. An aide subsequently released a video on Telegram showing Lavrov laughing at such reports from his hotel inBali, claiming Western media was at fault for "some kind of game".[96]
On 1 December, he advocatedRussian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure, saying that "This infrastructure supports the combat capability of the Ukrainian armed forces" and that the Russian missile attacks were intended to "knock out energy facilities that allow you to keep pumping deadly weapons into Ukraine in order to kill the Russians".[91]
On 28 December, Lavrov stated on national television: "I am convinced that thanks to our perseverance, patience and determination, we will defend the noble goals that are vital for our people and our country". He also stated: "Our absolute priority is four new Russian regions". He also stated thatpeace talks with Ukraine would only resume if it recognized the annexation of the four regions only partially occupied: "They should become free from the threat of Nazification that they have faced for many years".[97]
2023
Putin, Lavrov and Kazakh PresidentKassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, Kazakhstan, 9 November 2023
On 4 March 2023 the BBC reported that Lavrov was ridiculed by a conference audience after aG20 foreign ministers' meeting in Delhi after saying the Ukraine war was "launched against us". Lavrov claimed Russia was trying to stop the Ukraine war, which began after its own full-scale invasion in February 2022. Video footage of the incident was also published and the laughter could be heard in the audio.[98] However, he received applause from a section of the audience when he criticized the US-ledinvasion of Iraq.[99]
On 20 March 2023, India negated personal sanctions imposed against theRussian foreign minister while he was welcomed by India's Foreign MinisterSubrahmanyam Jaishankar inNew Delhi. During theG-20 earlier that month, India attempted to resolve the conflict between the United States and Russia but conceded saying 'the gap between the countries was too much'.[100]
On 6 April 2023, Lavrov again visitedTurkey to meet his counter-partMevlüt Çavuşoğlu. The ministers discussed several key topics including energy, security and regional diplomacy. Turkey served as a chief broker for theBlack Sea Grain Initiative that opened up grain shipments from Ukraine and Russia toNorth Africa and thedeveloping world. Turkey, a NATO-ally, has not imposed sanctions against Lavrov. Russia has stated that sanctions had impeded the export of Russian grain, and with the expiration of the deal, reduced Russian grain exports would accelerate inflation and food shortages. Because of intense diplomatic relations between Turkey and theRussian Federation, a new deal would allow Ukraine to export another twenty-five million tons of grain and foodstuff to underdeveloped countries. PreviouslyWestern media had accused Lavrov of obstructing Ukrainian grain shipments.[101] On 7 April 2023, Lavrov said Russia rejects the "unipolar world order" led by theUnited States and wants anypeace talks with Ukraine to focus on creating a "new world order."[102]
In May 2023, Lavrov said thatGermany was supporting Ukraine because today's German leaders inherited "Nazi genes".[103]
2024
In January 2024 Lavrov was quoted as saying: "Where has there been a similar turn of events before? Afghanistan. The Americans spent twenty years there. Did that period last as long as they needed or as long as it was possible? What did they accomplish there? … Ukraine, unfortunately is doomed to the same fate, because while relying on the patron, staying unaware that the patron cares only about himself, not about you at all, you cannot expect that the interests of your people will somehow be taken into account."[104]
On 15 February 2025 he had a telephone conversation with the US Secretary of State,Marco Rubio, the first contact between Russia and the US at that level in almost two years. They discussed organizing initial Ukraine peace talks inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, ending economic and diplomatic restrictions imposed on Russia during the previous several years, and various other issues, including theGaza war and theMiddle East situation.[105]
Lavrov and presidential foreign policy adviserYuri Ushakov participated in talks with the US delegation led by Rubio in Saudi Arabia on 18 February 2025. The Saudi foreign minister and national security advisor were also involved. The result of their talks was an agreement to beginnegotiations to end the Russo-Ukrainian War and to work towards normalizing relations between the US and Russia.[106][107] It later came to light that Lavrov clashed visibly withKirill Dmitriev who had not been accredited through him by Putin, and Lavrov denied him a chair at the table.[108][109]
On September 25, 2025, Lavrov claimed that NATO had declared a real war against Russia.[110]
On 2 September 2022, Lavrov was concerned over the delay in obtaining US visas for himself and his staff for the yearly meeting of world leaders at the UNGA on 19 September. "Not a single member of the 56-member Russian advance team and delegation" had received the visas. The US protested that this was due to the expulsion of staff from its Moscow embassy.[118] Lavrov backedIndia andBrazil for permanent membership at theUN Security Council.[119]
On 23–26 January 2023, Lavrov visitedSouth Africa,Swaziland,Angola, andEritrea. On 5–9 February, he visitedIraq,Mali,Mauritania, andSudan.[120][121] South African Foreign MinisterNaledi Pandor thanked Lavrov for the "most wonderful meeting" and described Russia as a "valued partner".[122] On 10 February, Lavrov said that Western efforts to "isolate" Russia had completely failed, and that Russia was building stronger relations with countries inAfrica, theMiddle East, theAsia-Pacific, and elsewhere.[123]
On 19 April 2023, Lavrov started his official tour to South andCentral America as well asCuba. His mission to these countries was initiated by a meeting with the newly electedBrazilian presidentLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who announced his position to negotiate in the conflict and to lay partial blame on Ukraine for the war. Lavrov had welcomed the balanced position by Brazil.[124] He continued the tour a day later to visitNicolás Maduro inVenezuela, a staunch Russian ally. Later that week, Lavrov also paid visits to Cuba and finallyNicaragua. His encounters with politicians there were taking place in friendly manner, and highlight the economic and political alliances Russia has with those nations.[125]
Lavrov condemned theOctober 7 attacks,[131] but also criticizedIsrael's "indiscriminate" force and "flagrant" violations ofinternational humanitarian law in theGaza war, stating: "If Gaza is destroyed and two million inhabitants are expelled, as some politicians in Israel and abroad propose, this will create a catastrophe for many decades, if not centuries."[132] He expressed concern over the violence in the occupiedWest Bank, where "dozens of people have been killed".[133] On 28 December 2023, Lavrov praised Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu for not criticizing Russia in public statements, unlike his predecessor,Yair Lapid. Lavrov also drew a parallel between Russia's goals of "demilitarization" and "denazification" of Ukraine, and Israel's stated goals of defeatingHamas and extremism in theGaza Strip.[134][135]
Lavrov and other members of the Russian delegation during Putin'svisit to China in May 2024
In June 2024, Lavrov thanked Chinese Foreign MinisterWang Yi for China's decision not to attend theUkraine peace summit in Switzerland.[136]
Putin, Lavrov, Xi Jinping and Narendra Modi at the16th BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, 23 October 2024
After the16th BRICS summit inKazan, Lavrov emphasised "the need to significantly increase the share of theGlobal South and Global East in the mechanisms of global governance, including the UN Security Council, IMF, World Bank, and WTO."[138]
On 21 March 2025 Sergey Lavrov was awarded theOrder of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, the highestorder of theRussian Federation, by Presidential Decree of the Russian Federation No. 160 for "outstanding services to the Fatherland, a significant contribution to the development and implementation of the foreign policy course of the Russian Federation, and many years of fruitful public service".[139][140]
Lavrov is a keen sportsman.[18] He likes to watchfootball games on television[142] and is an ardent fan of the Moscow clubSpartak Moscow.[143] He has been married since 1971 to Maria Lavrova and they have one daughter and two grandchildren.[144] Their daughter Ekaterina Sergeyevna Lavrova, who lived in the US and London while her father was working for the United Nations, is a graduate ofColumbia University. Having stayed inNew York City until 2014, and spent a long time outside Russia, she is not fluent in Russian.[145] She is married to Russian businessmanAlexander Vinokurov.[146]
Lavrov has allegedly had a relationship with his mistress, Svetlana Polyakova, since the early 2000s.[147][148] In 2016, her daughterPolina Kovaleva purchased an apartment in London's elite district ofKensington for £4.4 million in cash when she was 21 years old.[148][149][150] She has a master's degree fromImperial College London.[149] On 25 March 2022, the British government sanctioned her over allegations of "dirty money" as a part of a broader sanctions regime against corrupt Russian interests following theRussian invasion of Ukraine in late February.[151][152]
Lavrov was given anhonorary doctorate by theUniversity of Tromsø inNorway in 2011 for his role in peacefully negotiating a maritime delimitation line between Norwegian and Russian sector of the Barents sea.[158] In 2022 due to his involvement in the invasion of Ukraine and related violations of international law the degree was revoked. Lavrov is the only person to have had an honorary doctoral degree rescinded in Norway.[159]
^The information on Tbilisi being Lavrov's birthplace originated from the reporting work ofThe Georgian Times in Tbilisi in 2008.[6][7][8] While Lavrov asserted hisTbilisi Armenian roots as early as 2005,[6][9][10] none of his official biographies state a birthplace[9][7] and some sources have retained a reference to Moscow.[11]
^Some sources attribute the surname Lavrov to her,[9][7][11] others do not state her family name, or consider herGeorgian.[8] Lavrov has described his own origins as exclusively Armenian,[6] and it has been suggested that he took the surname of his stepfather.[11]
References
^ab"Sergei Lavrov". The Russian Government. Retrieved5 December 2024.
^Комитет почетных членов ИППО [Committee of honorary members of the IOPS] (in Russian). The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society.Archived from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved14 December 2017.
Kaukas, Erikas. "Analysis of Securitization of the Baltic States in the Rhetoric of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov."Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review 17.1 (2019): 211–229.
Miskimmon, Alister, and Ben O'Loughlin. "Russia's Narratives of Global Order: Great Power Legacies in a Polycentric World."Politics and governance 5.3 (2017): 111–120.online
Rosefielde, Steven.Putin's Russia: Economy, Defence and Foreign Policy (2020)excerpt
Rotaru, Vasile. "'Mimicking' the West? Russia's legitimization discourse from Georgia war to the annexation of Crimea."Communist and Post-Communist Studies52.4 (2019): 311–321.online
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