BBC World Service. I'm Steve Rosenberg and welcome to this special edition of the interview

with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He's one of the great survivors of Russian politics.

For more than 18 years, Sergei Lavrov has been the face of Russian diplomacy. On the international

stage, he is the man we see most often defending President Putin's foreign policy and dismissing

the constant stream of accusations leveled by the West against the Kremlin. He's gained a

reputation for being fiercely loyal to his boss, combative, bruising, a most undiplomatic diplomat

who pours scorn on criticism of Russia. He was no different when we met in St Petersburg

to talk about the invasion of Ukraine and how the world views Russia. Though he speaks

excellent English, this time Mr. Lavrov insisted on talking in Russian, a language I speak.

Now in translation, you may lose a bit of the ebb and flow of the conversation. Still,

this is a rare opportunity to hear a senior Russian official responding to criticism

of Russia's offensive in Ukraine. His words are read by a colleague.

Before President Putin took the decision to announce the start of the special military operation,

as he calls it, did he ask your advice about whether it was a good idea?

A decision making mechanism exists in every state, and in this case, the mechanism in the

Russian Federation was enacted in full. But did he ask your advice? I'll explain it to you again.

There are some things we don't say publicly. There is a mechanism for taking decisions,

and this mechanism was fully adhered to. I'm asking you because you've been the minister of foreign

affairs for 18 years, and invading a neighboring sovereign state is a foreign affair. The president

probably knew there would be serious international consequences, so I assumed he asked your advice.

It was nice to see you. You're a very experienced journalist. You know the reality of Russia,

and the post-Soviet region. Your question makes it sound like you want to cancel everything,

...