Spanish
Moscow.- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the European Union on Tuesday of trying to sabotage and interrupt the negotiation process for peace in Ukraine, which is supported by Turkey and the United States.
"The main thing (...) is to ensure that Europe stops sabotaging the path to peace, which is supported by both the United States and Turkey, and with which Russia is fully committed," responded the head of Russian diplomacy to a question from one of the journalists at a press conference after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.
In this line, Lavrov accused the EU of "sabotaging efforts" of US President Donald Trump to resolve the conflict, and of pushing Ukraine "to completely reckless actions, including drone attacks" against Russian territory and "the helicopter of the President of the Russian Federation", Vladimir Putin, referring to an incident reported by Moscow after the recent trip of the Kremlin chief to the border region of Kursk.
Read more: Andrei Portnov, Ukrainian ex-politician linked to Russia, assassinated in Madrid
"I disapprove of the attempts I see from Brussels to interrupt the negotiation process," he asserted.
He also accused France of being at war with Russia, because its long-range missiles are used by Kyiv to attack Russian territory.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the European Union maintains a hostile behavior against Moscow and "found a Nazi flag again" to try to defeat Russia.
In parallel, he justified the recent massive attacks by Russia against Ukraine, which have claimed dozens of civilian victims in recent days, as a "completely normal" response, because "the offender (Ukraine) had to be punished".
Lavrov also criticized the rumors about the United States' desire for Russia to replace the head of its delegation in the Istanbul negotiations, the former Minister of Culture and ideologue of Russian historical memory who denies the sovereignty of Ukraine, Vladimir Medinsky."Regarding the head of the Russian negotiating team, Mr. Medinsky, he is appointed, in case anyone doubts it, by the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and not by the leader or representative of any other State," he replied.
He also added that "if the U.S. wanted to communicate something to us, it knows how to do so without resorting to the humiliating way of spreading rumors."Istanbul hosted the first round of direct negotiations between Russians and Ukrainians on May 16, 2022.
In the negotiations, Russia maintained a maximalist position in its demands regarding Ukraine and the European Union, demanding the recognition of the annexed Ukrainian territories, the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops, and the lifting of sanctions, among other demands.
