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The Kremlin says Europe should take part in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, but argues that European countries need to change their approach.
“This is a very complicated issue. On the one hand, they should be at the negotiating table. But why are they needed there now with this approach? It would be pointless. That is why they are not there at the moment,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Vesti program.
According to Peskov, European leaders focus on “strategically defeating Russia” and have criticized a recent phone call between Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We see two leaders who decided to speak in their national capacities, and we see practically everyone else — above all Brussels — continuing to talk only about the goal of strategically defeating Russia. With that approach, it is impossible to talk to them,” Peskov said.
During the call, Putin responded to a proposal for de-escalation by saying that a “just and lasting peace” could be achieved only if Russia’s interests were fully taken into account.
Meanwhile, European countries are increasingly concerned that they could be excluded from negotiations to end Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Financial Times reported. However, they have struggled to agree on how to secure a place at the negotiating table as US President Donald Trump increases pressure on Kyiv.
The debate is unfolding alongside discussion of Putin’s proposal for a trilateral summit involving the leaders of Russia, the United States and China to seek a solution to the war in Ukraine.
