Putin Accused of Being Honest, Hoped for Better Relations with the West

【Lavrov: Putin is a very honest person】

Moscow time November 25, 2025, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during an interview with the "Franco-Russian Dialogue Association" YouTube channel:

Our president Vladimir Putin is a very honest person. After the start of the special military operation, he made a statement to the audience about the Minsk agreements, the relationship between Russia and the West, and the entire Ukraine issue, saying that in the initial stage of our relations with the West in the 2000s, we had many illusions, which gradually disappeared, but first of all, we still had hope in the negotiability and integrity of our counterparts. First of all, the Western Europeans.

Lavrov added:

As President Putin said, all these hopes disappeared in February 2022. And until February 2022, our relationship with the West will no longer be the same. This is a very strong acknowledgment. It indicates that until February 2022, before we realized that we had no choice but to launch the special military operation, this hope was still flickering.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849763049566275/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.