Top 96 Quotes & Sayings by Sergei Lavrov

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.

Even the state TV channels are not monolithic in their pro-government line, and the views they express are quite pluralistic.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

There's no room for petty grievances in politics.

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.

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.

In the spirit of commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, we will strive to achieve real progress in disarmament and arms control.

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.

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.

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.

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?

A second opinion never hurts, not only in medicine, but also in politics.

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.

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.

I can only say it is not for us to decide who should lead Syria. It is for the Syrians to decide.

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.

There is nothing in this world which could be not described as requiring more.

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.'

Russia is doing all it can to promote early stabilisation in Ukraine.

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.

I don't think you can perpetrate war crimes with defensive weapons, with air defense systems.

Sanctions are a sign of irritation; they are not the instrument of serious policies.

We have no desire to continue a sanctions war, trading blows.

Historical experience shows that a crisis causes either a recovery or catastrophic consequences.

Russia probably knows the true cost of revolutions better than most other countries.

We are categorically against any new military nuclear power, be it Iran, be it North Korea, be it anyone.

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.

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.

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.

We are categorically against proliferation of nuclear weapons.

Russia has every reason to dispose of its nuclear arsenal... to suit its interests and international legal obligations.

Every country has its political face and political traditions.

You cannot strengthen the law by violating the law.

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.

Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation.

Russia has been entirely proportionate in its military response to Georgia's attack on Russian citizens and peacekeepers.

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.

We can only talk to those who opt for the sovereign, territorially integral, secular, multiethnic and multi-confessional Syria.

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.

You know that we are not in the regime-change game. We are against interference in domestic conflicts.

NATO cannot accept that the unconstitutional coup in Ukraine has not led to the subjugation of the whole Ukrainian nation.

If it acts like a terrorist, if it walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it's a terrorist, right?

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.

I can only say that I have good personal relations with all secretaries of state with whom I have a chance to work.

With regards to the expansion of NATO, I see it as a mistake, even a provocation in a way.

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.

When Ukrainians kill Ukrainians, I believe this is as close to a civil war as you can get.

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.

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.

Russia would not support anything which would be actually imposed on Syrians.

It is absolutely unacceptable to talk to Russia - or anyone for that matter - in the language of ultimatums and coercive measures.

We have absolutely no intention of, or interest in, crossing Ukraine's borders.

Do not form your judgment about our military doctrine from the assessments given by NATO representatives.

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.

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.

Saddam Hussein was the one person after whom the United States went, and they ruined the country.