Key points
- Putin's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has given a wide-ranging news conference, covering the war, Trump and NATO
- Kremlin to keep a 'close eye' on Trump, Lavrov says
- Lavrov boasts of Moscow's allies and 'downfall' of West
- Lavrov tells Sky News: Moscow will study any Trump peace deal
- Ukraine strikes Russia in 'major drone and missile attack'
- The big picture: What you need to know at start of new week
- Reporting by Ollie Cooper
The key points from Lavrov's speech
We've just finished hearing from Sergei Lavrov.
The Russian foreign minister didn't give much away in terms of any potential peace negotiations, despite speaking for just under three hours.
Ukraine and Donald Trump came up on several occasions, but Lavrov either kept his answers vague or repeated longstanding Russian claims.
Here are the key takeaways:
- Russia is ready to provide Ukraine with unspecified security guarantees;
- But no progress will be made until Moscow "resolves the NATO issue once and for all";
- The Kremlin will keep a "close eye" on incoming US president Donald Trump;
- But Lavrov thinks that Trump will need to focus on internal issues like wildfires in LA and deportations before setting a clear foreign policy agenda;
- Despite that, Lavrov also told Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett the Kremlin would study any proposal put forward by Trump;
- He also claimed Joe Biden and his administration have been interfering "everywhere", including in Asia, Europe and South America.
US interfering in Latin America, Lavrov says
Back in Moscow, Sergei Lavrov has been answering questions for nearly three hours.
He's been jumping from regional disputes to general geopolitics, but now he's discussing Latin America.
Asked what Russia's plans for 2025 are in South America, Lavrov uses the opportunity to have another stab at Washington.
"The United States is trying to interfere or is trying to fracture the progressive forces [in South America], but there is nothing surprising about that," he says.
We're on to the final two questions now.
NATO announces mission to protect undersea cables in Baltic
Away from this Lavrov news conference for a moment - and NATO has announced it will launch a new mission to protect undersea cables in the Baltic Sea.
Speaking in Helsinki, NATO chief Mark Rutte said there was reason for "great concern" that undersea infrastructure was under threat.
Several incidents have taken place on the Baltic Sea since 2022 - after underwater infrastructure suffered suspicious damage.
A statement from NATO countries also said that members reserved the right to take any action against vessels that circumvent sanctions and threaten security.
It comes after reports from Poland this morning that aRussian "shadow fleet" ship has been circling around the Baltic Pipe subsea pipeline that delivers gas from Norway to Poland.
The "shadow fleet" refers to ships used by Russia to get around sanctions implemented by the West.The ships used are not regulated or insured by the normal Western providers.
The vessels allow Russia to transport oil, grain and other goods around the world that help keep its economy running and allows Moscow to finance its war in Ukraine.
What does Russia expect from Trump 2.0?
Russia's foreign minster is asked a short and direct question about what Moscow expects from Donald Trump as president.
Sergei Lavrov says he expects the new president's focus will be domestic for now, given the fires in California and his promises on massive migrant deportations.
"He has first to move into the office - for the time being, all his explanations, all his considerations, they just don't have a practical value. So let's wait until the new administration has formulated its official attitude," he says.
"They have many problems left behind by Biden," he adds.
Foreign minister discusses 'constructive' ties with Iran
Sergei Lavrov is asked about recently strengthened ties with Tehran.
"It is constructive and it is aimed at strengthening the capacities of both of Russia and Iran," he says.
The broad idea is "to make us more capable of developing our economies, resolving social issues and ensuring our defence capabilities".
He also says the ties are not "aimed" against any country.
Vladimir Putin is set to meet with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Moscow this week to sign a "comprehensive" strategic partnership agreement.
'We're ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine'
Sergei Lavrov interrupts a long speech on the idea of greater Eurasian ties with Russia to return to the prospect of peace in Ukraine.
"We are ready to discuss security guarantees for a country that is called Ukraine," he says.
He preceded that comment by saying: "First, threats on our Western frontiers have to be eliminated."
He offers no detail and returns to discussing Eurasia.
Lavrov takes aim at Merkel
Do major European countries have a role in peace negotiations, or is the US taking the lead?
That's the next question to Sergei Lavrov, put forward by a German reporter.
The Russian foreign minister responds: "I believe that Germany has already played its part, played it well, when they became guarantors... [of] the Minsk agreements," referring to the series of treaties that ended the 2014 Donbas war in eastern Ukraine.
He then says several key European countries, including Germany and France, went back on their word.
"They simply wanted to win a couple of years in order to better prepare Ukraine for a war."
He says he particularly blames former chancellor Angela Merkel for this.
"So with all due respect to the history of the German people, I believe it has already made its contribution."
Russia needs to 'resolve NATO issue once and forever'
Sergei Lavrov has been speaking about allies China and India in the past few minutes, but now turns back to Ukraine.
On Moscow's so-called special military operation in Ukraine, he says several issues need addressing.
"We need to resolve the NATO issue - once and forever," he says.
He also says Vladimir Putin wants to "restore the rights of the Russian people" in the four regions of eastern Ukraine that Moscow has illegally annexed.
In particular, he focuses on the need for the Russian language to be spoken there.
Moscow will study any peace proposal put forward by Trump, Lavrov says
Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennettalso asks the Russian foreign minister about how Donald Trump will affect potential peace negotiations.
He says the Kremlin will study any peace initiative for Ukraine put forward by Washington once the president-elect takes office next Monday.
Lavrov also welcomes comments from an increasing number of world leaders recognising what he terms "the realities on the ground" in Ukraine - suggesting Moscow is in a strong negotiating position.
He says the Kremlin has not received any proposals from Washington thus far, but repeats that Vladimir Putin is ready to meet with Trump once he is back in the Oval Office.
Finishing his answer, the foreign minister says Moscow will wait for a "concrete" peace initiative.
Listen to the Greenlanders, Lavrov says after Trump comments
Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett is next to ask the foreign minister a question.
He asks Sergei Lavrov about Donald Trump's recent comments on wanting to buy or take over Greenland.
The incoming president refused last week to rule out using military force to take the territory, which belongs to Denmark.
Lavrov says he thinks the wishes of the residents of Greenland should be respected, pointing to how Moscow has acted towards people in the areas of Ukraine it has annexed.
Citing Greenland's prime minister, he says: "They don't want to be Danish or American - they want to be Greenlanders.
"So we should listen to them in the first place."
