Its deputy foreign minister, Mikhail Galuzin, met in Moscow with its ambassadors and told them that their countries were pursuing a “disastrous policy” regarding the .
The French ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, told reporters outside the Russian Foreign Ministry building that the three’s meeting with Galuzin was a “good discussion” and that an announcement would be made later.
The meeting in Moscow came after the leaders of France, Germany and Britain — who lead an informal security alliance known as the E3, a key pillar of support for Ukraine — met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in London last Sunday, where they expressed support for his request for a ceasefire.
The story of Moscow
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that Galuzin presented the diplomats with “an objective assessment of the disastrous policy followed by the leaderships of their countries regarding the Ukrainian crisis, which is aimed at maximally encouraging the Kiev regime to continue the war against Russia on behalf of the so-called “Alliance of the Willing”, at its own expense and with its direct support.
“The main positions of the Russian side in seeking a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict, based on addressing its root causes, were explained” by Galuzin, the ministry also said.
Meeting Sunday in Downing Street, European leaders and Zelensky agreed that the current line of contact between Russian and Ukrainian forces should be the basis for negotiations, that Ukraine should receive legally binding security guarantees, including the deployment of a multinational force, and that frozen Russian financial assets would remain frozen until Russia compensates Ukraine for its damages war.
Putin’s attitude
Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to maintain a tough stance on the war, but last week hinted that US President Donald Trump’s peace proposals could help end the fighting.
Speaking to foreign reporters in St Petersburg, Putin said he was willing to talk to European politicians but argued they were not the right people to mediate an end to the war. “What kind of mediator can the European Union or its individual member states be when they directly support a country with which we are in armed conflict?” he said.
