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Lavrov downplays significance of EU conferences on Ukraine in Paris

It is reported that not more than 20 or 30 billion US dollars have been allocated for these purposes since then, while the sums going to Kiev are much bigger

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called not to attach too much significance to EU conferences on Ukraine in Paris.

"The number of Western conferences is obviously growing. They are trying to offset the decreasing interest and dramatic drop in financial capabilities to maintain the Zelensky regime. The French and President [of France Emmanuel] Macron are overly enthusiastic about convening all sorts of events, caring little about their potential outcome. I would not attach too much significance to the conferences organized in Paris," he told a news conference, commenting on a European conference on Ukraine that was held in Paris on February 26.

Thus, he recalled that such events have never yielded any concrete results. As an example, he cited the Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015, when Western countries promised to allocate some 100 billion US dollars a year to developing countries to ensure their energy transition within ten years. However, according to Lavrov, not more than 20 or 30 billion US dollars have been allocated for these purposes since then, while the sums going to Kiev are much bigger.

Macron said after a meeting in the Elysee Palace on February 26 that the participants had looked at sending ground troops to Ukraine. Although no consensus was reached on this topic, he did not rule out such a scenario in the future. The Paris conference on Ukraine was attended by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Polish President Andrzej Duda and prime ministers from around 20 EU countries. The United States was represented by US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O'Brien, and David Cameron represented the United Kingdom.