On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov addressed the media at a press conference in Moscow, revealing enormous discrepancies between the Kremlin’s position on the war in Ukraine and the White House’s characterizations of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict. The risk of miscommunication between Washington and Moscow became clear immediately after Monday’s conference. Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Trump and Putin had merely “discussed the idea that it would be worthwhile to explore the possibility of raising the level of representatives from the Ukrainian and Russian sides” — a stark contrast to White House claims that Russia’s president had agreed to a direct meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart. Sergey Lavrov’s August 20 comments confirm that Moscow has made no such pledge. Meduza examines the differences between Lavrov’s statements and earlier public comments by leaders in the United States and Ukraine.