Sergei Lavrov

Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, the Russian diplomat, was born on 21st March 1950. He has been serving as the foreign minister of Russia since 2004.

Sergey Lavrov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1972, where he studied international relations and gained expertise in various languages.

Cyrus Roberts Vance presented an arms reduction proposal to General Secretary Brezhnev and Foreign Minister Gromyko in Moscow during January 21-23, 1976.

Cyrus Roberts Vance met with General Secretary Brezhnev and Foreign Minister Gromyko in Moscow during March 27-30, 1977.

In 1981, Lavrov was appointed as a senior adviser to the Soviet mission to the United Nations in New York City, where he played a significant role in international diplomatic affairs.

Warren Minor Christopher discussed strategic arms reductions with President Yeltsin and Foreign Minister Kozyrev in Moscow from February 16 to 18, 1992.

In 1992, Sergey Lavrov was promoted to the highest diplomatic rank in the Russian Federation by the Decree of the President of Russia.

Warren Minor Christopher discussed the Bosnian crisis with senior Russian officials in Moscow on May 4 and 5, 1993.

Lavrov served as the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004, where he was involved in various international diplomatic activities.

Colin Luther Powell accompanied President Bush to a meeting with President Putin in Moscow.

Colin Luther Powell met with President Putin and Foreign Minister Ivanov in St. Petersburg. He also accompanied President Bush during this visit.

On 9 March 2004, President Vladimir Putin appointed Sergey Lavrov to the post of minister of foreign affairs, succeeding Igor Ivanov.

In April 2008, Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Moscow and Kazan for diplomatic purposes.

Hillary Rodham Clinton met with President Medvedev and Foreign Minister Lavrov to discuss arms control, nonproliferation, and counterterrorism.

As early as 2011, Lavrov criticized the status of 'non-citizens' in Latvia and Estonia, referring to the problem of Russian speaking stateless persons as 'shameful for the EU.'

On 21 May 2012, Sergey Lavrov was reappointed as the foreign minister to the cabinet led by prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.

After the G8 leaders voted to officially suspend Russia's membership, Lavrov stated that the G8 was an informal organization and membership was optional for Russia.

Lavrov stressed federalism, recognition of linguistic minorities, and that Ukraine be a non-aligned state as a solution to the constitutional impasse in Ukraine.

On May 18, 2018, Sergei Lavrov took office as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. He assumed the role as the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On 15 January 2020, Sergey Lavrov resigned as part of the cabinet, but on 21 January 2020, he maintained his position in Mikhail Mishustin's Cabinet.

In 2021, Lavrov was critical of a massive NATO-led military exercise called Defender-Europe 21, which included nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, and other countries. He stated that Russia's response was inevitable.

On 4 February 2022, Lavrov dismissed as nonsense and craziness the allegations by the United States that Russia was preparing a fake video of the Ukrainian forces attacking the separatist-held Donbas as a pretext for starting a war in Ukraine.

On 10 February 2022, Lavrov met with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in the context of tensions between Russia and the West over a build up of Russian troops near the Russia–Ukraine border.

On 25 February 2022, the US, UK, EU, and Canada announced sanctions against Lavrov as well as Putin. The US added Lavrov to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.

On 1 March, most diplomats at the United 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.

On 2 March 2022, Lavrov explained in an interview with Al Jazeera, Moscow, how the invasion of Ukraine came about in the context of an international crisis that already existed well before 2014.

On 10 March 2022, Sergei Lavrov met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Antalya, Turkey. During the meeting, Lavrov claimed that Russia did not attack Ukraine and made unsupported allegations about the bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol.

On 7 April 2022, the United Nations General Assembly voted to suspend Russia from the UNHRC over its behavior in Ukraine. The vote met the required threshold of a two-thirds majority of the assembly members.

On 25 April 2022, Sergei Lavrov accused NATO of fighting a proxy war with Russia that could escalate into a global conflict with nuclear weapons. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin responded by stating that it's unhelpful and dangerous to speculate about the use of nuclear weapons.

On 1 May 2022, Sergei Lavrov made controversial remarks in an interview regarding Russia's claim to 'denazify' Ukraine and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Jewish heritage. His comments were condemned by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

On 14 May 2022, Sergei Lavrov used the phrase 'total hybrid war' to describe the West's efforts to help Ukraine combat the 2022 Russian invasion.

During an interview with the BBC's Steve Rosenberg, Lavrov denied Russia's invasion of Ukraine and claimed that the special military operation was a response to Ukraine's potential NATO membership. He also reiterated the Kremlin's assertion of the presence of Nazis in Ukraine and criticized the UN's report on an incident involving the Russian military in Yahidne, Ukraine.

Lavrov left the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia due to discomfort with questions about Putin's invasion of Ukraine. He also faced criticism from Ukraine sympathizers who refused to join a group photo with him.

Lavrov publicly confirmed Russia's intention to 'liberate' the Donbas region and occupy other territories in response to Ukraine's alleged weapons support from abroad.

Lavrov expressed Russia's determination to assist the people of eastern Ukraine in liberating themselves from the current regime, emphasizing the unacceptability of the existing government.

Lavrov expressed his persistence in pursuing peace talks with Kyiv, highlighting the increasing difficulty of reaching an agreement if the process is further delayed.

Lavrov attended the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting in New York City, where he made controversial statements regarding the conflict in Ukraine, including false claims about the Ukrainian government and the involvement of other countries.

Lavrov publicly supported Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, justifying it as a means to weaken the combat capability of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Lavrov expressed Russia's determination to defend its goals and emphasized the priority of four new Russian regions. He also stated that peace talks with Ukraine would only resume under certain conditions.

India negated personal sanctions imposed against Lavrov and welcomed him during his visit to New Delhi, indicating its attempt to mediate between the United States and Russia.

Lavrov expressed Russia's rejection of the 'unipolar world order' led by the United States and emphasized the need for a 'new world order' in peace talks with Ukraine.