MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. The real objective of European leaders is not to negotiate with Russia, but to save the regime of Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"The real objective of Europe's leaders, then, is not to negotiate with Russia. It is to shore up the Zelensky regime and preserve it as a launchpad for continued confrontation against Russia," Lavrov stated in his article ‘Ukraine, Europe and Global Security.’
"With this in mind, European leaders are scrambling to secure a ceasefire as quickly as possible and for one reason only: to prevent the collapse of Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield. The plan is to ‘freeze’ the conflict without addressing its root causes, and then rapidly deploy military contingents from the Anglo-French ‘coalition of the willing’ onto Ukrainian soil," Russia’s top diplomat added.
"So what has prompted European leaders to suddenly shift their rhetoric and start talking of negotiations and what are they aiming for with these statements? For instance, the EU diplomacy head Kaja Kallas has stated: the purpose of any dialogue with Russia is to dictate Europe's terms," Lavrov emphasized.
"These include: paying ‘reparations’ to Ukraine; withdrawing troops from Transnistria and the South Caucasus; abolishing the ‘foreign agents’ law; and accept hard limits on the size of the Russian Federation's Armed Forces," he continued.
"In her framing, ‘there can be no just and lasting peace without accountability for Russia. During the UN Security Council session on May 19, 2026, an EU representative made the point unequivocally: ‘supporting Ukraine militarily does not contradict the pursuit of peace, but rather serves as a fundamental prerequisite for any credible, good-faith negotiations’," Lavrov stated.
The Russian foreign minister also pointed out to the fact that Europe intends to negotiate with Russia in parallel with the continuation of the legal aggression that is carried out through the Council of Europe.
"Europe's plan is to talk with Russia while simultaneously pressing ahead with a campaign of legal warfare orchestrated through the Council of Europe. Within this once-respected organization, an entire infrastructure is being assembled for the express purpose of ‘holding Russia accountable:’ a Register of Damage, a Claims Commission, and a Special Tribunal," he stated.
"The European Union has also given the green light to detaining merchant vessels on the high seas. Several incidents have already taken place in the Baltic and the Atlantic. At the same time, the West studiously averts its gaze from the terrorist acts of sabotage perpetrated by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Black and Mediterranean Seas," Lavrov added.
This article by the Russian foreign minister was initially planned to be published in the Brussels-based "Politico-Europe," but via a last minute decision of the outlet's editorial team the publication was canceled.