Russia’s MFA spokesperson accuses West of “deception” over Ukraine policy

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has accused Western countries of misleading states with promises of European integration and later abandoning them, amid reports that the European Union may restrict entry for Ukrainian refugees of military age.

In comments addressing EU discussions on the status of Ukrainian men eligible for conscription, Zakharova said Western states were engaging in what she described as "large-scale deception," Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

“The West is engaging in deception on an unimaginable scale, luring countries with promises of European integration, only to squeeze them dry and then cast them aside,” she said.

She argued that countries joining European integration frameworks in exchange for long-term security and political support ultimately do not receive the protections they expect.

“A distinctive feature of Western European integration processes is that, at a critical moment, they will deny you the support you were counting on when you joined or relinquished part of your sovereignty precisely in order to gain long-term benefits: protection, support in difficult times, and accountability. But these institutions will never give you that. There are countless examples,” she emphasised.

Zakharova also criticised Western involvement in domestic political processes, alleging that such actions are self-interested rather than supportive.

“They are not doing this for these countries, but for themselves,” she said, adding that external interference results in a loss of sovereignty without guaranteeing protection in return.

Expanding on her remarks, she said Western powers “will squeeze every last drop out of you, take your rare-earth metals and black soil, saddle you with the harshest loans, and when you say things are really bad, he’ll dump on your head the very problem he promised to solve.”

Zakharova further claimed that current developments involving Ukraine reflect this pattern, in her view, including discussions in the EU about limiting temporary protection for Ukrainian men of conscription age.

“What did they lure them with in the first place? With human rights and the idea that they would become part of this ‘Russophobic backdrop’,” she said.

She added that, in her view, Ukrainian refugees had been used symbolically in Europe’s political stance toward Russia and were now being deprioritised.

By Sabina Mammadli