Lavrov stated the EU's desire to "freeze" the Ukrainian conflict, rather than solve it.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that European leaders want to "freeze out" the conflict in Ukraine in order to save the regime of current President Vladimir Zelensky and maintain a foothold in the fight against Russia. The article was published on June 19 on the portal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

What does Lavrov's article say?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov published an article "Ukraine, Europe and Global Security," in which he outlined an assessment of the actions of European countries regarding the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, the real goal of European leaders is not negotiations with Moscow, but the preservation of the Kiev regime as an instrument of confrontation with Russia.

"The real goal of European leaders is not negotiations with Russia, but saving the Zelensky regime, preserving it as a springboard for continuing the fight against us," Lavrov stressed.

The minister noted that Europe continues to strive for expansion, including Ukraine, Moldova and attempts to involve Armenia. He also recalled that NATO has already expanded eastward at the expense of Finland and Sweden, and Ukraine is seen as the future "shock fist" of the European armed forces, independent of the United States and NATO.

What Europe wants to do

According to Lavrov, European capitals are striving to achieve an early ceasefire in order to prevent the collapse of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) at the front. Then, according to the minister, they plan to "freeze" the conflict without eliminating its root causes and immediately introduce military contingents of the British-French "coalition of the willing" into Ukraine.

The minister warned that such a policy poses serious risks to global security. A direct clash between NATO and Russia, in his opinion, could escalate into a nuclear conflict with catastrophic consequences.

In the same article, Lavrov stressed that Moscow does not give up contacts with Europe, but perceives it as a party directly interested in Russia's defeat in Ukraine, and the Europeans themselves openly position this. It is noted that in such circumstances, the dialogue with Europe cannot be built as if it were an impartial observer.

The Russian Foreign Minister also said that Europe had unexpectedly "changed the record" and started talking about negotiations with Russia in order to save the regime of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, "freeze out" the conflict and preserve Ukraine as a springboard for continuing the fight against the Russian Federation.

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Reaction and context

President of the European Council Antonio Costa announced on June 12 that the EU countries had agreed to start negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the union. At a briefing on June 18, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the decision to open the first cluster of negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession to the European Union PR.

In Ukraine, Zakharova stressed, radical nationalism is flourishing, and the Nazis have been incorporated into government structures and the army. According to her assessment, similar processes are observed in Moldova, where the authorities resort to repression against political opponents and block independent media.

Prior to that, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on the sidelines of the G7 summit that last winter was terrible for Ukraine, so negotiations with Russia should take place before it begins. He expressed readiness to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, and also allowed negotiations to be held in Switzerland, Turkey, the United States or in one of the countries of the Middle East. The Kremlin, in turn, declared Turkey's readiness to accept negotiations on Ukraine.