Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Lavrov is a Russian diplomat who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation since 2004. Before that appointment he spent decades in the Foreign Ministry, including a term as Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and earlier as a deputy foreign minister. He sits on Russia's Security Council and is one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the country's modern history. Lavrov is known as a leading spokesperson for Russian foreign policy in international negotiations, including on issues related to the war in Ukraine.
-
Turkey and UN organize new Russia-Ukraine Black Sea ceasefire talks as Russia rejects proposals
Turkey and the UN are organizing new Russia-Ukraine negotiations in early October on a Black Sea ceasefire aimed at protecting grain shipments, with mediators from the Swiss NGO Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. The initiative, launched in September 2025, seeks to recreate the 2022 grain deal that secured safe export of Ukrainian food through Black Sea ports. Russian officials have publicly rejected a return to that framework, while Ukraine's foreign minister says Kyiv is weighing four ceasefire variants from the US, India, Turkey and Egypt.