Putin: What kind of mediator is the EU, helping a country that is in conflict with Russia?
MOSCOW – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin met the ambassadors of France, Germany and the United Kingdom in Moscow on Thursday and told them that their countries were pursuing a “destructive” policy regarding the war in Ukraine.
According to Reuters, French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere told reporters outside the Foreign Ministry building that the three diplomats had held a “good discussion” with Galuzin and would issue a statement later.
The meeting in Moscow came after the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, which lead the informal E3 security alliance and are among the main sources of international support for Ukraine, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in London on Sunday, where they expressed support for calls for a ceasefire.
In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Galuzin told the diplomats that an objective assessment was needed of the destructive policies pursued by their governments in relation to the Ukraine crisis, which were aimed at maximising support for the Kyiv government in continuing the war against Russia on behalf of, at the expense of, and with direct assistance from the Western “coalition of the willing”.
“The Russian side’s fundamental approach to seeking a political and diplomatic settlement of the conflict based on its root causes was explained,” the ministry said.
At Sunday’s meeting in Downing Street, the European leaders and Zelenskiy agreed that the current line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces should serve as the starting point for negotiations.
Ukraine should be provided with legally binding security guarantees, including the deployment of multinational forces, while frozen Russian financial assets should remain frozen until Russia compensates for war-related damage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has maintained his hardline stance on the war, although last week he suggested that proposals from US President Donald Trump could help bring the fighting to an end.
Putin told foreign journalists in St Petersburg that he was willing to speak with European politicians, but argued that they were not the appropriate parties to mediate an end to the conflict.
“What kind of mediator can the European Union, or EU member states, be if they are directly assisting a country that is engaged in armed conflict with us?” he said. (DK/ZH)
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