The EP deputy stated the desire of European elites to cash in on the Ukrainian crisis

Representatives of the European political elites want to cash in on the Ukrainian crisis and are not interested in a peaceful settlement of the conflict. This was announced on April 9 by Mark Botenga, a member of the European Parliament (EP) from Belgium.

These include, in particular, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, as well as politicians from other European Union (EU) countries who benefit from arms supplies to Kiev.

"Mr. De Wever and a whole part of the European establishment, instead of seeking to put an end to this <conflict>, are going to escalate it by saying that our companies can profit from it," La Libre newspaper quoted him as saying.

Botenga clarified that he was not calling for the curtailment of defense production in Belgium, which was working well before the conflict began. However, now we need to make a choice: either diplomacy or an "eternal military conflict" that will ensure the flow of orders for industry. The MP believes that now the EU needs to choose a system based solely on diplomacy for its own security.

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier on April 9 that European countries had once again "taken wing" against Russia. He noted that Moscow is witnessing another wave when Europe turned against the Russian Federation. At the same time, all world tragedies have always begun with aggressive actions on the part of Europeans — the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and the Second World War, the minister recalled.

Before that, on April 3, the leader of the Get Up, France party, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, told Izvestia that the French people did not agree with the policy of the current authorities of the country, who support Ukraine and do not contribute to the conclusion of peace, which Russian President Vladimir Putin and US leader Donald Trump are striving for. He also pointed out that the idea of sabotaging peaceful intentions is absolutely absurd and makes no sense. According to Dupont-Aignan, the idea of sending a peacekeeping contingent of European troops to Ukraine is just as stupid and pointless.