🎙 Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov’s remarks and answers to media questions at a joint press conference following talks with Foreign Minister of Turkiye Hakan Fidan following talks (Moscow, June 16, 2026)

💬 Sergey Lavrov: We held substantive and productive talks. We outlined additional practical steps required to implement the principled agreements reached by our Presidents on developing bilateral ties and strengthening coordination on regional and international issues.

We had a constructive discussion of current global and regional issues, including the situation in the Black Sea region. Attempts by the Kiev regime to stage provocations involving vessels carrying grain to Turkiye, as well as tankers, are a cause for concern, as are the constant threats of terrorist attacks against the TurkStream and Blue Stream gas pipelines.

We agreed to work closely together on ensuring security in the Black Sea region, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and North Africa.

We are concerned by the problems that have arisen in the Middle East in connection with the Iran-Israel conflict. The situation has already expanded beyond the Strait of Hormuz.

The problems of Lebanon and Palestine have not disappeared. Israeli leaders have made it clear that there will be no Palestinian State. This would be a direct violation of UN decisions.

❌ Russia and Turkiye cannot accept this. We will insist on the implementation of what has been agreed many times over.

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Key points from the Q&A:

• Europe does not react to the Zelensky regime’s policy of rehabilitating Nazi criminals, including the reburial of criminals and collaborators convicted by the Nuremberg Tribunal, and declares that Kiev is somehow defending European values. 👉 This is a confession. A self-exposure.

• The EU is building all its security-enhancement structures against Russia. From the point of view of safeguarding our interests, Ukraine’s accession to the EU will undoubtedly be used by those who want to militarise it.

• As regards the EU’s internal problems, perhaps Ukraine’s accession would not be such a bad thing: the bloc would simply fall apart. If they want to forget about the economy altogether, then Zelensky is exactly the person they should invite in.

• The duplicity for which the Western world has always been known has not gone anywhere: double standards; a “rules-based order” instead of international law; and the logic of “I can do whatever I want, while everyone else must ask me for permission”.

• Russia stands for respect for the UN Charter, for international law, and against any voluntarism in the sphere of sanctions.

🇷🇺🇹🇷 #RussiaTurkiye

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