EU excludes itself from peace talks, Russian deputy FM says

The European Union is effectively excluding itself from negotiations on a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine through its own position, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in remarks to TASS.

“The very position that Europe takes and constantly voices excludes it as a participant in the negotiations,” Grushko said. “It is completely detached from reality and does not indicate that there is an understanding at the level of EU countries of how the situation can be redirected toward a real path leading to a settlement through political and diplomatic means. (...)”

Grushko also pointed to ongoing discussions within the EU over who should represent the bloc in any future negotiations.

“It is well known that internal discussions are still underway within the European Union regarding who will represent Europe at these talks. I will not name any individuals; their names are already widely known. This is no secret. But this alone demonstrates that the European Union is not genuinely interested in holding negotiations. (...) They constantly say that Europe should ‘have a seat at the negotiating table.’ However, this desire is not being translated into practical action,” he said.

By Jeyhun Aghazada