Lavrov Challenges Rubio: Kremlin Says Trump-Putin Reached Deal as Moscow Questions Washington’s Neutrality

The Kremlin has pushed back against US claims that no agreement was reached between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the August 2025 Anchorage summit in Alaska.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Washington presented proposals to settle the war in Ukraine during the talks and that Moscow accepted them.

Lavrov was responding to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has publicly rejected Russian claims that Washington and Moscow reached an agreement on Ukraine during the Alaska summit, saying no deal was ever finalized.

As reported by DRM News, Rubio said the summit produced only a proposal, not a binding agreement.

He added that the US remains ready to play a constructive role in bringing the parties together and helping end the war, but stressed that while proposals were discussed in Alaska, “there was no agreement.”

Lavrov struck back by calling the response “not very elegant.”

“When my colleague says that in Alaska there were only proposals and no agreement, I wonder what we mean by agreement,” Lavrov said.

“If one side, in this case the US, put proposals on the table, and the other side expressed agreement, then saying there was no agreement is somehow not very elegant,” he added.

According to Lavrov, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff visited Moscow days before the summit and delivered the same US settlement plan.

“Already in Anchorage, when the two presidents sat down for talks, Putin began listing the American proposals point by point. After each point, in the presence of Trump and Rubio, he asked Witkoff whether he had correctly described the ideas brought to Moscow. Witkoff answered affirmatively to each question,” Lavrov said.

He called for clarification from Washington, adding that recent US statements about playing a constructive role in ending the war sounded like an attempt to position itself as a mediator.

Previous claims

In early June, Lavrov claimed Russia had accepted what he described as US proposals presented at the Alaska summit.

Lavrov alleged that Washington initially acted as a mediator but later stepped back from the process after failing to pressure Ukraine to accept the proposed terms.

This week, he also suggested that the Alaska summit may have been used to “buy time” for Ukraine to rearm itself, further arguing that Russia no longer views the West as a credible broker amid sanctions pressure.

Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov also said Moscow remained committed to implementing the understandings reached in Alaska, while accusing Washington of “apparently [failing] to complete its part of the process.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued that Washington cannot be considered fully neutral in the war because of its military support for Ukraine.

“If we’re talking about absolute neutrality, then, of course, the term is probably inapplicable, because the United States supplies the majority of weapons to Ukraine and provides other forms of assistance,” Peskov said.

At the same time, he said Moscow highly values Washington’s willingness to help resolve the war, as well as its influence over European allies and Kyiv.

Peskov also dismissed remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently said at the G7 Summit that Washington had abandoned neutrality and was now openly backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity, continued aid, and sanctions against Russia.

“Regarding President Macron’s statements, it is difficult to judge. I don’t think President Macron can in any way claim to be Washington’s lawyer or press secretary,” Peskov added.