MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. Europe is interested in Russia's defeat in the conflict, it cannot be treated as an impartial observer, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
As for negotiations, Vladimir Putin reiterated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia is not opposed to contacts with any party. We see Europe, however, as a party bent on Russia's defeat - a stance the Europeans themselves openly avow," Lavrov stated in his article ‘Ukraine, Europe and Global Security.’
"Dialogue with Europe, therefore, cannot be conducted as though it were an impartial third-party observer," he noted.
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.