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Sergei Lavrov [1950-0] Russian

Rank: 102
Diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia

Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov is a Russian diplomat, and is currently the Foreign Minister of Russia, in office since 2004.
From 1994 to 2004, Lavrov was a Russian diplomat, and the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations.

Legal, Relationship, Respect, War

Quote	Tags	Rank
We have no desire to continue a sanctions war, trading blows.	War	101
We have looked into the general problems with adoption in the United States, and we discovered - on the basis of the reports written by American NGOs - we discovered that not only Russians but kids from other countries and the American-born kids have been subject to very unfortunate behavior on the part of their adopted parents.		102
NATO has a special relationship with countries far away from Europe: Australia, Japan, South Korea. They have joint projects and programmes which are being implemented without these countries becoming members of NATO.	Relationship	103
We provide transit facilities, we cooperate in equipping the Afghan army and security forces with arms and helicopters, we cooperate in training officers for law enforcement agencies.		104
If you say that your national law allows you to do something, it is fine as long as you do this inside your own territory. As long as you go international, you really have to be sure that there is an international law which you respect and which you follow.	Respect	105
If it acts like a terrorist, if it walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist, right?		106
In the spirit of commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, we will strive to achieve real progress in disarmament and arms control.		107
Sanctions are a sign of irritation; they are not the instrument of serious policies.		108
A second opinion never hurts, not only in medicine, but also in politics.		109
It is absolutely unacceptable to talk to Russia - or anyone for that matter - in the language of ultimatums and coercive measures.		110
We have become stronger economically; we have been successfully resolving the social problems, raising the level of living - the standards of living - of the population.		111
I don't believe in ideology in international relations.		112
If you look at U.S. Congress, 80 percent of them have never left the U.S.A., so I'm not surprised about Russophobia in Congress.		113
The Russian Federation and the United States of America, the two biggest nuclear powers in the world, but apart from nuclear-wise, we have a lot in common. We have huge territories, natural resources, technologies, science, education, and of course human capital.		114
We still believe that if the Russian Federation and the United States bring their minds together, we can develop a common system which would be efficient in protecting the Euro-Atlantic region from threats coming outside this region.		115
I can only say that I have good personal relations with all secretaries of state with whom I have a chance to work.		116
Russia would not support anything which would be actually imposed on Syrians.		117
The international community unfortunately did take sides in Libya, and we would never allow the Security Council to authorise anything similar to what happened in Libya.		118
I know that Britain and the United States and others ship arms in the Middle East, 10 or maybe 100 times more than the Russian does.		119
What we did say is that it is up to the Syrians themselves to decide how to run the country, how to introduce the reforms, what kind reforms, without any outside interference.		120
I wouldn't even go into the history of the last days of the Soviet Union, the withdrawal from Europe, and what promises were given at that time, because those were oral promises, and our leaders of that time strongly believe that, like in ancient Russia, a word given is better than any treaty.		121
Historical experience shows that a crisis causes either a recovery or catastrophic consequences.		122
We are categorically against proliferation of nuclear weapons.		123
When you buy a company at an auction, and you are committing yourself to pay some $300 million to the state because it was a privatization deal, and you don't pay it, is it OK? Isn't it something that deserves court procedures?		124
Even the state TV channels are not monolithic in their pro-government line, and the views they express are quite pluralistic.		125
There is nothing in this world which could be not described as requiring more.		126
Crimea was not a non-nuclear zone in an international law sense but was part of Ukraine, a state which doesn't possess nuclear arms.		201
Russia has every reason to dispose of its nuclear arsenal... to suit its interests and international legal obligations.	Legal	202
We have absolutely no intention of, or interest in, crossing Ukraine's borders.		203
Saddam Hussein was the one person after whom the United States went, and they ruined the country.		204
We are certain that Ukraine needs profound constitutional reform. In all fairness, we can't see any other way to ensure the stable development of Ukraine but to sign a federal agreement.		205
Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation.		206
With regards to the expansion of NATO, I see it as a mistake, even a provocation in a way.		207
When Ukrainians kill Ukrainians, I believe this is as close to a civil war as you can get.		208
Our stand is crystal-clear - we want peace in Ukraine, which can only be attained through broad national dialogue in which all regions and all political forces of the country must participate.		209
Attempts to settle crises by unilateral sanctions outside the framework of U.N. Security Council decisions threaten international peace and stability. Such attempts are counterproductive and contradict the norms and principles of international law.		210
Humanitarian issues must bring together all people who act in good faith trying to alleviate the suffering of people in dire need - especially women, children and the elderly.		211
There's no room for petty grievances in politics.		212
I very much hope that the United States will finally... realise that they can no longer act as the prosecutor, the judge, and the executioner in every part of the world and that they need to cooperate to resolve issues.		213
We feel no isolation. But, having said that, I want to emphasise in particular that we do not want to go to extremes and abandon the European and American directions in our foreign economic cooperation.		214
Regarding the visa-free regime, it has undoubtedly become a problem for the European Union, above all in terms of its capacity to reach agreements.		215
For years, we have been asking the E.U. to create something similar to the Russia-NATO council. Not in order to simply exchange opinions and work out recommendations, but to make decisions.		216
Do not form your judgment about our military doctrine from the assessments given by NATO representatives.		217
Every country has its political face and political traditions.		218
I can only say it is not for us to decide who should lead Syria. It is for the Syrians to decide.		219
You know that we are not in the regime-change game. We are against interference in domestic conflicts.		220
You cannot strengthen the law by violating the law.		221
We are categorically against any new military nuclear power, be it Iran, be it North Korea, be it anyone.		222
We can only talk to those who opt for the sovereign, territorially integral, secular, multiethnic and multi-confessional Syria.		223
I don't think you can perpetrate war crimes with defensive weapons, with air defense systems.		224
You either deny terrorists any acceptance in the international life, or you make your double standard policy work the way it has been working - 'I don't like that guy in this country, so we will be calling him a dictator and topple him. This guy in another country also dictatorial, but he's our dictator.'		225
Iran will be the most checked and inspected country if the principles agreed in Lausanne are transferred into the language of practical agreements.		226
If our interests - our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians - have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia, for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law.		301
Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests.		302
The struggle against terrorists in the territory of Syria should be structured in cooperation with the Syrian government, which clearly stated its readiness to join it.		303
Shouldn't the General Assembly adopt a declaration on the inadmissibility of interference into domestic affairs of sovereign states and nonrecognition of coup d'etats as a method of the change of power?		304
The attempts to distort the truth and to hide the facts behind blanket accusations have been undertaken at all stages of the Ukrainian crisis.		305
The U.S.-led western alliance, while acting as an advocate of democracy, rule of law and human rights, is acting from the opposite position, rejecting the democratic principle of the sovereign right of states enshrined in the U.N. Charter and trying to decide for others what is good and what is bad.		306
We have been protecting the lives of the Russian peacekeepers who had been attacked by their Georgian comrades, because there was a joint peacekeeping force.		307
When the Georgian army started this assault against the sleeping city of Tskhinvali, the Georgian peacekeepers, serving in one contingent with their Russian friends, joined the army and started killing the Russian comrades in arms.		308
We believe that this is not right for a democracy to make revolutions the beacon of promoting democracy.		309
If you think that a coup to overthrow the elected government is a coup everywhere, then you should remember how elections in Ukraine took place in 2004, how elections in Georgia took place in 2003, when the elections results have been torn and thrown away by revolutionary action.		310
We have been getting out of the situation where we found ourselves in the early '90s, when the Soviet Union disappeared and the Russian Federation became what it is - you know, with no borders, with no budget, no money, and with huge problems starting with lack of food and so on and so forth.		311
I started, you know, to work as a diplomat during the Soviet days, and in spite of ideology being very high on the Communist Party agenda, I can assure you that in practical terms, we have always been trying to be pragmatic.		312
Frankly speaking, we don't see any other way for the steady development of the Ukrainian state apart from as a federation.		313
I don't want to say that sanctions are ridiculous and that we couldn't care less; these are not pleasant things... We find little joy in that, but there are no painful sensations. We have lived through tougher times.		314
The Americans have taken the course of confrontation and do not assess their own steps critically at all.		315
Attempts to put pressure on Russia and to compel it to abandon its values, truth and justice have no prospects whatsoever.		316
NATO cannot accept that the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine has not led to the subjugation of the whole Ukrainian nation.		317
We believe Russian-American relations are broader and larger than emotions and mutual grudges, including the situation with the U.S. fugitive Edward Snowden.		318
We are not wedded to anyone in Syria. We are not concerned with any personality. We are concerned with keeping Syria in one piece, territorially integral, sovereign, independent and secular, where the rights of all groups, ethnic and others, are fully respected.		319
The jihadists come from many European countries, Russia included, and some even from the United States; hundreds of them - if you take Europe, Russia and the U.S. - are fighting in the ranks of extremist groups.		320
When Colonel Gadhafi started using his air force against civilians on the ground, we did not hesitate. Then we supported the resolution of the Security Council, which introduced arms embargo for Libya.		321
We are convinced that the only way to resolve the Iranian nuclear issue is through negotiations.		322
I hope that the United States would cooperate with the partners to reduce its debt. The debt is a problem. The debt is with you, but unfortunately, the debt is not only with you but with us and with the rest of the world because we all, one way or another, are dependent on the dollar.		323
We keep our reserves both in dollars and in Euros mostly.		324
Russia has done more than any other country to support the independent Ukrainian state, including for many years subsidising its economy through low energy prices.		325
Assertions that Russia has undermined efforts to strengthen partnerships on the European continent do not correspond to the facts.		326
The E.U.'s Eastern Partnership programme is designed to bind the so-called focus states tightly to itself, shutting down the possibility of co-operation with Russia.		401
Russia is doing all it can to promote early stabilisation in Ukraine.		402
On September 11, 2001, Russia's then-president, Vladimir Putin, called U.S. President George W. Bush - making Putin the first international leader to speak with Bush after the attacks.		403
Conversations with my counterparts in Europe have made clear that many of them recognize NATO's limitations and understand the need for reform.		404
Russia would prefer to rebuild trust rather than allow it to further corrode. That's why, in July 2007, President Putin, in the spirit of strategic openness, proposed a truly collective effort at missile defense for Europe.		405
All our security now depends on the wise decisions and cooperation of our leaders.		406
Russia and the U.S. must jointly manage expectations to ensure that attempts to 'reset' our relationship succeed.		407
Russia and the U.S. have unique experience in ensuring the safety and security of nuclear material.		408
Russia and the U.S. bear a special responsibility in world affairs. We have much to offer the rest of the world. Our common history testifies to this, and modern challenges demand that we work together.		409
You cannot defeat Islamic State with airstrikes only. It's necessary to cooperate with ground troops, and the Syrian army is the most efficient and powerful ground force to fight the Islamic State.		410
We firmly oppose the use of violence in the course of current transformations in Arab States, especially against civilians. We are well aware of the fact that the transformation of a society is a complex and generally long process, which rarely goes smoothly.		411
Russia probably knows the true cost of revolutions better than most other countries.		412
People versed in politics need not be told that the devil is in the detail, and tough solutions implying the use of force cannot produce a lasting long-term settlement.		413
Syria is a multi-confessional state: in addition to Sunni and Shia Muslims, there are Alawites, Orthodox and other Christian confessions, Druzes, and Kurds.		414
Germany has traditionally played a very constructive role regarding E.U. ties with Russia and the West as a whole with Russia.		415
We can say that Japan is the only country that calls into question the outcome of the Second World War; no one else does.		416
Hours before the Georgian invasion, Russia had been working to secure a United Nations Security Council statement calling for a renunciation of force by both Georgia and South Ossetians. The statement that could have averted bloodshed was blocked by western countries.		417
Russia has been entirely proportionate in its military response to Georgia's attack on Russian citizens and peacekeepers.		418

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