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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on Saturday that Moscow welcomes the possibility of resuming peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, but issued a series of sharp warnings, including that "globalization has ended."
He noted that the dollar has become "a weapon of war," that some are already calling the current global situation "World War III."
The Russian foreign minister added that Moscow has the means to respond if its "red lines" are crossed, in a sweeping Antalya Diplomacy Forum address covering Ukraine, NATO, the Middle East, Palestine and the global economic order.
Asked about the prospects of resuming Ukraine talks in Istanbul following difficulties in Abu Dhabi, Lavrov said Russia's position was open.
"We welcome the possibility of resuming negotiations in Istanbul. We did not force anyone into negotiations. We have always acted this way: if our partner is ready to negotiate, we are ready. Moreover, this applies to our Ukrainian colleagues, despite their past unfortunate actions," he said.
He recalled that in April 2022, Russia had "essentially accepted" Ukrainian negotiators' proposals in Istanbul, but that Ukrainians were subsequently told to stop and "continue fighting."
He said last year's Istanbul talks had also stalled after Russia proposed raising the level of delegation heads and forming three negotiation groups, humanitarian, military and political, a proposal Ukraine declined.
Lavrov offered a sweeping ideological framing of the conflict.
"The events we are discussing today began to mature long before the Ukrainian crisis, long before Ukraine was transformed into a Nazi state to be used against Russia," he said.
"Today those most actively supporting Ukraine are European countries where Nazism is openly being revived, including, unfortunately, Germany and Finland. The British have never been far from Nazi philosophy," Lavrov added.
"This war is a war carefully prepared and waged by the West against the Russian Federation through Ukraine," he noted.
He claimed Zelenskyy's "chief values" were the total ban of the Russian language, culture and media, and the glorification and legitimization of Nazism, describing these as "the values of modern Europe."
Lavrov said Russia had attempted to secure legal security guarantees in November-December 2021 but was rebuffed.
"Unfortunately, legal security guarantees are only available if you become a NATO member. That's all. The loop has closed," he said.
He claimed NATO's verbal commitments against eastward expansion after the Soviet Union's dissolution were later ignored and that the principle of "indivisibility of security," included in OSCE documents signed in Istanbul in 1999, had been violated.
On U.S.-Russia relations under Trump, Lavrov was candid about the gap between expectations and reality.
"We have many disagreements on practical developments with the current American administration. The sanctions imposed during the Biden period have not been lifted. Our diplomatic property has not been returned. New sanctions have been imposed on our companies," he said.
He noted the Trump administration had sanctioned Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil and said Washington was openly pursuing dominance over global energy markets, including talk of American companies seeking to buy TurkStream's European section and the Ukrainian pipeline.
"The goal of establishing dominance in the energy sector has been set," he said.
He added that American strikes on Iran were aimed at seizing control of oil flowing through the Gulf and Hormuz.
Despite the criticism, Lavrov said Trump showed a greater "intention to maintain dialogue with Russia" than Biden.
On proposals for a new security bloc involving the EU, Britain, Türkiye and Ukraine, Lavrov said the dynamic was moving toward "a coalition of the willing", but dismissed it.
"This is what they call it, and now it looks more like a coalition of those who want to appear real. In my view, very soon this structure will become a coalition of has-beens. I cannot see how the national interests of European countries can be served by an openly revanchist and militarized policy," Lavrov said.
"For the third time in modern human history, the global threat will come from Europe, and everything is being done to make Ukraine the trigger of that global threat. But our president has said it many times: we also have the means to respond," he added.
He warned against testing Russia's red lines.
"Some may describe us as a 'paper tiger.' I would advise against such comparisons. We have patience, but at some point patience runs out. It is a good thing that nobody knows exactly where that red line is," Lavrov noted.
On the global economy, Lavrov said the system had fundamentally changed since the Biden era.
"Globalization as you knew it has ended. We are observing fragmentation, regionalization and trade wars actively used by the U.S. to strengthen its position. The dollar has been turned into a weapon of war. And it is no coincidence that a growing number of sub-regional structures are not only thinking but actually working to protect themselves from the dollar's imposition," he said.
He said BRICS and other structures were developing payment, insurance, investment and financial mechanisms independent of the Western system.
Lavrov said Palestine must not be forgotten amid the Gulf crisis, calling the de facto abandonment of the U.N. two-state solution "a historic mistake."
He flagged concerns about the Golan Heights, West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon, and said the Hormuz and Syria situations required careful monitoring.
Lavrov closed with a stark observation.
"Some say: 'This is World War III, we just haven't yet fully understood that this is how world wars are now conducted.' It would not be appropriate for us to judge this. Historians will evaluate it," he concluded.
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