External encroachment: EU seeks to strengthen Ukraine before negotiations
The EU wants to create a quantitative and qualitative advantage for Kiev in working out the terms of future agreements with Moscow. This was stated to "Izvestia" by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. That is why the Europeans are eager to be at the negotiating table. In particular, the European Commission has just approved a new €6.1 billion aid package to Kiev for the purchase of air defense and other weapons. In addition, European leaders may once again convince American President Donald Trump to return to pressure on Moscow, experts believe. The Kremlin does not rule out the possibility of resuming trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine in October. The "Izvestia" article describes how the parties can approach this new round.
Europe is trying to strengthen Kiev
European countries are desperate to be at the negotiating table on the Ukrainian settlement. On September 10, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called on Vladimir Zelensky to involve Rome and Warsaw in the process. Earlier, the need for Europe's presence was discussed in the UK, Germany and France — their representatives participated in the meeting of the US and Ukrainian delegations in Kiev on September 6.
Today, Europe is perhaps the main obstacle to peace in Ukraine, it does not retreat from the task of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia at the hands of Ukrainians, effectively becoming Kiev's rear. This was stated to "Izvestia" by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Mikhail Galuzin.
— Behind the Europeans' claim to a place at this table, we see their desire to create a quantitative and qualitative advantage for Kiev in working out the conditions for future peace agreements. In fact, Europe is not acting as a mediator, but as part of a united delegation of the West and Ukraine against Russia," Galuzin said.
According to him, since the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, the Europeans have had tremendous opportunities to play a constructive role in its settlement, but have done nothing for this. At the same time, they supply Kiev with everything necessary: from weapons, including long-range UAVs and missiles, to intelligence and assistance with targeting weapons on Russian territory, the diplomat said.
— All this testifies to one thing: Europe categorically does not accept the very idea of finding peaceful solutions to the crisis. Its goal is to preserve the aggressively Russophobic, neo—Nazi regime in Kiev. As President Vladimir Putin has said more than once, this is not part of our plans," the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister stressed.
Now European countries continue to entertain the idea of sending their troops to Ukraine after the end of the conflict. This was discussed, in particular, at the meeting of the "coalition of the willing" on September 4. However, a week later, Vladimir Putin bluntly stated that the introduction of European troops into Ukraine would mean war with Russia. He added that Moscow has no grounds for conflict with Europe, everything was resolved following the results of the Second World War.
Maintaining the current political regime in Ukraine is extremely important for European officials, since Kiev plays the role of a constant threat to Moscow and serves as a distraction factor for its attention and forces, said Vladimir Shapovalov, deputy director of the Institute of History and Politics at Moscow State University. The ultimate goal of Brussels at this stage is to defeat or weaken Russia as much as possible, depriving it of international influence, the expert believes.
Now the efforts of Kiev's European allies are focused on two directions. They are urgently trying to find interceptor missiles for the Ukrainian air defense system, as the military capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are decreasing due to the strikes of the Russian Armed Forces. Germany has allocated part of the missiles from its stocks, Canada and Britain have promised to finance the purchase in the United States from warehouses, but the amounts allocated are quite modest. On September 11, the European Commission made a more generous gesture: it approved an additional €6.1 billion for the purchase of air defense, missiles and other weapons for Ukraine, including Patriot. According to the European Commission, since 2022, Ukraine's support from the EU and its member states has amounted to more than 220 billion euros. Of these, over €88.7 billion has been allocated for military needs.
According to Shapovalov, the second task of Brussels and London is to convince the United States to resume pressure on Russia. To solve it, a "landing" of European leaders in the White House is not excluded, as it was after the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in Alaska last August.
What can be discussed at the meeting of the Russian Federation, the USA and Ukraine
Meanwhile, the discussion on negotiations in the format of the Russian Federation, the United States and Ukraine resumed. Recall that the need to restart the trilateral dialogue after the meetings in Moscow and Kiev was announced by the special envoy of the President of the United States, Steve Witkoff. Following a telephone conversation between the leaders of the two superpowers, the parties agreed to continue contacts. Donald Trump considers it necessary to end the Ukrainian crisis as soon as possible and expressed a desire to achieve this during his presidential term.
The last meeting of the delegations from Moscow, Washington and Kiev took place in Geneva in February, and before that the parties met in the UAE. Then a large-scale conflict broke out in the Middle East, and the United States noticeably shifted its focus. At the same time, for some time Washington was still communicating with Russian and Ukrainian representatives separately.
The topic of Ukraine was discussed at the BRICS summit in New Delhi on September 11-13. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, confirmed the UAE's readiness to provide a platform for negotiations on Ukraine during talks with Vladimir Putin. "It seems "quite acceptable for Russia," Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian head of state, told "Izvestia".
Oleg Karpovich, Head of the Department of the MGIMO Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasizes that the UAE has repeatedly demonstrated its effectiveness as a neutral platform for the negotiation process, and trust is important in resolving such issues.
Services for the new Russia–USA–Ukraine trilateral meeting are offered not only by Abu Dhabi, but also, in particular, by Turkey. Also, according to Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, China and India are ready to contribute to the settlement. The Russian president welcomed this willingness and provided the interlocutors with detailed information on the situation, he said. Moscow is counting on the start of trilateral negotiations in the foreseeable future. The Kremlin does not rule out the possibility of resuming trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine in October.
Participants of the trilateral meeting of the delegations of Russia, the United States and Ukraine in Geneva
The agenda of a possible meeting is more complicated. At the moment, humanitarian contacts are continuing between Russia and Ukraine: prisoner exchanges, bodies, and family reunions. In any case, a political dialogue will be needed to move towards a peaceful settlement. Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier that Ukraine is ready to seek compromises in the fields of energy and food supplies as part of a settlement of the conflict with Russia. But the Kremlin drew attention to the circumstances of this proposal. "This readiness appeared after President Putin said that the Kiev regime had opened a Pandora's box by attacking our facilities, peaceful economic facilities, and social infrastructure facilities," Peskov said.
Russian officials emphasize that Moscow is aiming for a full-fledged settlement, not a pause in hostilities. At the same time, the peace agreement should be based on the situation on the ground, where Russian troops continue to advance.
Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov stressed that Russia had not toughened its position on the Ukrainian settlement, and the demands remained the same. Moscow hopes that sooner or later the process of resolving the Ukrainian conflict will yield a positive result. The United States believes that the most difficult issue in resolving the conflict in Ukraine remains the territorial one. Russia emphasizes that reaching agreements on the territorial issue can facilitate further progress in negotiations.
— There are also many other questions. There are really a lot of them and there really are a lot of things that have yet to be agreed upon," Ushakov told "Izvestia".
The composition of the Russian delegation for the new trilateral talks has not yet been determined, as well as there is no agreed package of agreements on the settlement of the conflict, the Kremlin explains.
Oleg Karpovich believes that the most urgent topic for negotiations remains the fulfillment of the conditions outlined at the Anchorage summit. However, today there are more and more doubts about Kiev's willingness to compromise. In order to fully restart the negotiation process, Ukraine must recognize the current realities in its conflict zone.
But the EU's attempts to engage in negotiations can only complicate and confuse the dialogue. Its politicians cannot even decide who will speak on behalf of the association. Do not forget about Britain, which is one of the leaders among Ukraine's sponsors. The situation can only change with the appearance of constructive ideas, but so far they have not been heard from Europe.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
