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- He is not capable of a treaty: Moscow does not see the EU as a mediator in the dialogue with Ukraine
He is not capable of a treaty: Moscow does not see the EU as a mediator in the dialogue with Ukraine
Russia excludes the mediation of the European Union in negotiations with Ukraine, since it has not been a neutral party since the very beginning of the conflict, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Izvestia. In recent months, the EU has significantly increased military assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, hoping for continued military operations. At the same time, Kiev insists that Brussels become a participant in "any negotiations." This was stated by Vladimir Zelensky at the summit of the European Political Community. The expert community notes that the countries of the association continue to bet on Russia's defeat in the conflict with Ukraine.
Europe's participation in the negotiations on Ukraine
The European Political Community (ENP) summit was held in Armenia on May 4. The leaders of dozens of Western countries have gathered in Yerevan, while the ENP format involves the participation of not only EU members, but also those who are simply interested in contacts with Brussels. The composition of the guests turned out to be wide, and it is not surprising that Vladimir Zelensky also arrived in Yerevan, who demanded that European countries work out a joint position for dialogue with Moscow.
— We need to find a working diplomatic format. And Europe should be at the negotiating table," he said.
In the current situation, Russia rules out possible mediation by Brussels in the negotiations, since Europe cannot be considered a neutral player in the conflict, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.
— The European Union has made a lot of efforts to avoid being considered a neutral party in any capacity. And this is the main requirement for conducting or mediating the negotiation process. The EU has today taken over financial and military support for the continuation of hostilities and bloodshed in Ukraine. Therefore, in this case, it is completely illogical to even raise the question that direct participants, sponsors and stimulators of the process can act as intermediaries for dialogue," he said.
According to him, the EU has never made any realistic proposals for a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Nevertheless, if, in theory, Brussels decides to form a unified position and publicly express it, Moscow will be ready to consider it. After Donald Trump returned to the White House, the United States stopped direct arms supplies to Ukraine, and also put forward a compromise solution to the conflict, offering Kiev to withdraw troops from Donbass, to which he refused.
After the start of its conflict, Brussels abandoned its own initiatives, verbally only supporting the "Zelensky formula", which Kiev put forward in 2022. It assumed the return of Ukraine to the borders of 1991, security guarantees for it in the form of an analogue of Article 5 of the NATO treaty, as well as reparations from Moscow. Russia rejected the "formula for peace," calling it illusory and stressing that its goal is to achieve Russia's surrender. "Of course, we will not talk to anyone on such terms," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at the time.
There were no peace initiatives from the EU at the current summit in Yerevan either. In practice, the union's participation in the negotiation process is unrealistic, because the status of a mediator means that it should be as neutral as possible towards both warring parties, Bogdan Bezpalko, a political scientist and member of the Council on Interethnic Relations under the President of the Russian Federation, explained to Izvestia.
— The mediator needs to formulate the terms of the compromise so that they are suitable for both sides. In the case of the European Union, it is impossible, because it has been betting on Russia's defeat for a long time. They continue to supply Ukraine with finances, weapons, and plants on their territory. This is not a mediator, but a party to the conflict," the expert said.
Zelensky's logic, which talks about participating in the EU's diplomatic process, is simple. He wants the European Union to take the place of the United States in the negotiations, which fully supports Ukraine, Bezpalko believes. Earlier, Politico even wrote that the head of the Kiev regime began to develop a strategy for negotiating with Russia without the participation of the United States. Today, the issue of Ukraine is on the periphery of Washington's interests due to the conflict in the Middle East. Donald Trump publicly announced it only after a conversation with Vladimir Putin on April 29.
Following the conversation, the American leader noted that he had offered the Russian leader to organize a "small truce" by May 9 and received support (on May 4, the Russian Defense Ministry officially announced a truce on the 8th and 9th). He also said the words he had repeatedly said that a deal on Ukraine was close and it was important to end the fighting as soon as possible. However, earlier the Kremlin explained that the negotiations had been paused due to the fact that American diplomats, Special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner, were busy with the Iranian issue.
How the European Union is increasing aid to Ukraine
One of the important events for Zelensky at the summit in Armenia was a meeting with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. The politicians discussed the tranche from the European support package, which will be aimed at the joint production of drones. "We agreed to actively move towards a drone deal with the European Union, and discussed the details of such possible security cooperation," Zelensky said.
Kiev threatens to use these UAVs not only on the battlefield, but also in the Russian rear. So, Zelensky decided for some reason that the format of the Victory Day parade in Moscow had been changed, allegedly because of fears of an attack by Ukrainian drones. In particular, military equipment will not participate in the event. A significant part of the €90 billion loan allocated by the EU will also be used to create drones. About €60 billion of this amount is reserved for military support.
The funds will be allocated from the budget of Brussels, however, on the eve of the European Commission, the UK also received a signal of its desire to participate in the loan program and allocate its money. This was stated by EC representative Balash Uyvari after media reports that London was going to discuss this issue with EU members on the first day of the summit in Armenia. Earlier, the United Kingdom promised to transfer at least 120,000 drones to Kiev during 2026.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the EU loan of €90 billion should not reduce direct payments from individual states — these financial flows will complement each other, not replace each other. In his opinion, the total amount of support in 2026 should reach $60 billion. Over the past month, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway have announced new agreements to provide military assistance to Kiev.
"The EU will support Ukraine for as long as it takes to achieve a sustainable, just and long—term peace with full respect for Ukraine's territorial integrity," said European Council President Antonio Costa on the sidelines of the ENP summit.
Moreover, the EU is actively working to accelerate Ukraine's accession to the union. According to Kosta, in the near future it is necessary to open the first negotiation cluster on Kiev's integration into the EU.
The six clusters are huge thematic blocks, for each of which Ukraine will have to prove not only the existence of the necessary laws, but also their real work. The most important of them is the "Fundamentals", which include justice and the fight against corruption. Kiev now wants to open these clusters not one at a time, but simultaneously, in order to shorten the period of EU accession as much as possible. Such rhetoric and actions by European officials only confirm that Brussels is not capable of mediating in negotiations.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
