EU to be Excluded in Ukraine Talks; Lavrov
RUSSIA – The Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday said that there’s no place for EU in Ukraine talks.
He said that Europe has been hostile to Russia, holding anti-Russian stance and seeking its defeat, yet they want to be part of the negotiation.
“Europe is clearly trying, quite brazenly, to win a place for itself at the negotiating table, although from the position it espouses – revanchism and inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia – there is, of course, no place at the negotiating table,” he said.
He criticized EU leaders and Ukraine for what he called their attempts to sabotage the negotiations and bring about a stand-off and convince Trump to abandon the peace plan.
The top diplomat further said that EU and NATO leaders seek to derail peace efforts regarding Ukraine.
“The EU and NATO Brussels are proceeding from precisely this: they, of course, want to disrupt the peace process,” he said.
Lavrov also stressed that the security guarantees for Ukraine “must fully comply with the West’s obligations, enshrined in the UN Charter and in the documents of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Istanbul in 1999 and in Astana in 2010.”
He added that while European leaders pretend to be bigwigs by their plans to send troops to Ukraine, they’re incapable of doing anything.
Russia has always rejected any deployment of any western troops in Ukraine and warned that any such deployment will make them legitimate targets.
Russia Attacking Civilian Targets
He categorically rejected Ukraine’s accusations that Russia targets civilians.
“The Russian army never attacks civilian targets or civilian populations,” Lavrov said, accusing Kyiv and its partners of spreading misinformation.
Lavrov criticized UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for condemning Russia’s alleged strikes on civilian targets in Ukraine, claiming the UN Secretariat supports “fakes” promoted by Kyiv and its allies.
“In response to each accusation, we asked, where is the evidence… where are the facts?” he said, adding that Russia would present video material to foreign envoys.
