In an interview with Russian state-run media outlet TASS, Lavrov said Russia has yet to receive official proposals to end the war but was not keen on the ideas reported in the media.
“We are not happy, of course, with the proposals made by members of the Trump team to postpone Ukraine’s admission to NATO for 20 years and to station British and European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov said that Moscow would refuse to accept NATO membership regardless of whether Russia gets territory in Ukraine and called for “reliable and legally binding agreements” to create a lasting peace.
The top Russian diplomat also cast doubt on Trump’s ability to restore relations with Moscow.
“Even if Trump tries to relaunch bilateral ties, he will have to swim against the stream,” Lavrov said, citing the bipartisan focus on standing up to Russia in Washington.
The comments offer some of the most detailed yet from the Kremlin, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has been more vague, though he has expressed an openness to meeting with Trump.
Lavrov was responding to leaked reports about Trump’s policy proposals to end the war, as the incoming president has not offered any details of his plan.
Trump, who campaigned on ending the war by the time he takes office, has acknowledged the difficulty of stopping the conflict but has also pledged not to abandon Ukraine.
“I want to reach an agreement, and the only way you’re going to reach an agreement is not to abandon,” Trump told Time Magazine earlier this month.
Some reports suggest that Trump will cede territory in eastern Ukraine seized by Russia in return for security guarantees enforced by European peacekeeper troops. The conflict would be frozen along current lines.
Trump has tapped retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg as his Russia-Ukraine envoy. Kellogg has publicly said the U.S. should get Kyiv to the table by threatening to withhold arms while pushing Moscow into negotiations with threats of surging weapons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials in Kyiv have said they want real security guarantees, which will likely have to include NATO protection. Zelensky has made NATO membership a key part of his victory plan.
Programming note: The newsletter will return on Jan. 2.
