The Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov's article 'Ukraine,
Europe and global security' was initially scheduled for
publication in the European edition of the publication
[Politico], but at the last minute the publication was cancelled
by a decision of the editorial staff.
The leaders of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, along
with Volodymyr Zelensky, presented five demands to Russia at a
meeting in London on June 7 as conditions for a "just and lasting
peace" in Ukraine. Based on these demands, Europe proposes
dialogue with Moscow.
The entire experience of negotiating with Europe as part of the 'collective West' over the past 20 years testifies to one thing: negotiations with Russia are a deceptive tactic, a diplomatic cover for the geopolitical expansion of the West and its institutions, above all NATO and the European Union, eastward, toward Russia's borders.
Trump: "We had a very good conversation with Putin and Zelensky and maybe we can do something there"
It is impossible to deny Europe's contribution to the resurgence of the Ukrainian crisis. Along with the Americans, Europeans inspired the "Orange Revolution" in Kyiv in 2004. In order to create an anti-Russian platform in Ukraine, they spent years buying off politicians and entire parties, rewriting history and educational curricula, fueling and cultivating Ukrainian nationalism, and doing everything possible to distance Ukraine from Russia.
In 2013, the European Union rejected our proposal to seek a compromise on the association agreement, which Brussels was forcing Viktor Yanukovych to sign. I would like to remind you that Ukraine was being offered the opportunity to open its markets without any promises of reciprocity, even though this would have been incompatible with Kyiv's continued participation in the Commonwealth of Independent States' free trade area. After Viktor Yanukovych requested a postponement of the agreement's signing, the Europeans provoked street riots and the coup in Kyiv in February 2014.
Later, Germany, France, and Poland behaved in the same treacherous manner. Having given guarantees for the fulfillment of the agreement, they "washed their hands" as soon as that same opposition they controlled took power: democracy, they said, can take unexpected turns.
Then, Europeans began to support the new authorities. When dozens of supporters of rapprochement with Russia were burned alive in Odessa on May 2, 2014, not a word of condemnation was heard from Europe.
As guarantors of the 2015 Minsk agreements, France and Germany effectively encouraged the Ukrainian regime to sabotage its obligations. As Angela Merkel and François Hollande acknowledged after the start of the special military operation, Kyiv was not intended to comply with the Minsk Agreements, unanimously approved by the UN Security Council. The objective was to buy time to "strengthen" the Ukrainian Armed Forces and equip them with Western weapons.
Russia, for its part, did everything possible to overcome the security crisis in Europe through diplomacy. However, in January 2022, the United States and NATO rejected the Russian proposal to conclude legally binding agreements on mutual security guarantees. The European members of the Alliance actively participated in this process.
After the start of the special military operation, a unified Europe supported the UK Prime Minister's line aimed at torpedoing the Istanbul negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Boris Johnson's call for Kyiv to "sign nothing and just fight" effectively closed off any possibility of genuine diplomacy for a long time.
The question arises as to why European leaders have suddenly "changed their tune" and begun talking about negotiations, and what they hope to achieve with their statements. For example, according to statements by the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, dialogue with Russia is necessary to convey Europe's conditions, including the payment of "reparations" to Ukraine, the withdrawal of troops from Transnistria and Transcaucasia, the repeal of the law on "foreign agents," and the establishment of a maximum limit on the number of personnel in the Russian Federation's Armed Forces.
She believes that "it is impossible to achieve a just and lasting peace without holding Russia accountable." On May 19 of this year, a representative of the European Union, during a session of the UN Security Council, emphasized that "military support for Ukraine does not contradict the aspiration for peace; it is a prerequisite for conducting negotiations in good faith."
Europe intends to negotiate with Russia in parallel with the continuation of the legal aggression being carried out through the Council of Europe. Within this once-respected organization, structures are being created "to hold Russia accountable": a "register of damages," a "complaints commission," and a "special tribunal."
The European Union has given the green light to the detention of merchant ships on the high seas. Several incidents have already occurred in the Baltic and the Atlantic. At the same time, the West turns a blind eye to terrorist sabotage by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.
Therefore, the real objective of European leaders is not negotiations with Russia, but rather to save the regime of Volodymyr Zelensky, to preserve it as a platform for continuing the fight against us. To this end, European capitals want to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible to prevent the collapse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the front lines. They want to "freeze" the conflict without addressing its root causes. And they want to immediately deploy military contingents from the British-French "volunteer coalition" into Ukraine.
It is well known that European elites have invested their "political capital" in the confrontation with Russia, spending hundreds of billions of dollars to support the Kyiv regime and increase the military budgets of European Union and NATO countries. Europe plans to achieve "combat readiness" for a conflict with Russia by 2030. Until then, they want to buy time in various ways. As the Belgian Chief of Staff cynically declared in April of this year, "We still have a few years thanks to the blood of the Ukrainians, which buys us that time."
A unified Europe continues to dream of expansion, aiming to annex Ukraine and Moldova and dragging Armenia into its orbit. NATO has expanded eastward, absorbing Finland and Sweden. Ukraine is considered the "shock fist "of future European armed forces, independent of the United States and NATO.
This situation entails serious risks to global security, since a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia could quickly escalate into an exchange of nuclear blows with catastrophic consequences.
Under the banner of "strategic autonomy," Europe is experiencing a serious strengthening of its military capabilities, including in the nuclear sphere. Paris's intentions to provide a "nuclear umbrella" to several European Union and NATO countries are deeply concerning. This will certainly not strengthen the security of either France itself or the recipients of its "aid."
Despite all this, European politicians and military officials are attributing alleged aggressive plans to Russia, plans which, they claim, are not limited to Ukraine. The Russian president has repeatedly stated that this is nonsense, a provocation, and disinformation intended to extract budgetary funds to fight against Russia. And this is not the context in which any substantive negotiation on anything can take place.
Regarding negotiations, as Vladimir Putin reiterated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, we do not reject contacts with anyone. However, we perceive Europe as a party to the conflict with a vested interest in Russia's defeat, and the Europeans themselves openly present themselves in this way. Consequently, dialogue with Europe cannot be structured as if it were an impartial external observer.
Lukashenko claims that the Vatican and the Israelis deceived Russia in 2022
Russia prefers that the objectives of the special military operation be achieved through diplomacy. To this end, it is essential that Russia's security on its western borders, the honor and dignity of our citizens and compatriots, including their right to their native Russian language and Orthodox faith, be reliably guaranteed. There can be no talk of continuing the West's military, political, and economic expansion, as this contradicts the imperatives of a multipolar world.
European leaders must understand that the regional security model built in Europe over decades, beginning with the adoption of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975, was destroyed by their own hands. It is now necessary to move towards the creation of a pan-continental security architecture, open to all Eurasian countries, that reflects the multipolar realities of the contemporary world. The principle of equal and indivisible security, trampled upon in Euro-Atlantic constructs, can be realized in a new Eurasian architecture. When the conditions are ripe, Europe will be able to join in this great endeavor.
The main point is that, for any substantive dialogue to take place, trust must be restored, trust that has been undermined by the anti-Russian actions of the West and of Europe as an integral part of it in the post-Cold War era. Trust can only be restored through practical steps that demonstrate a sincere rejection of using diplomacy as a cover for expansionist designs. Trust cannot be restored, nor can dialogue be resumed, through ultimatums like the one presented to Russia in London on June 7.
It is significant that London's ultimatum was confirmed without appeal by the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany at the meeting held at the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 11, a meeting they themselves had insisted upon. That was the sole purpose of their visit to the Russian foreign policy department. [end of text]
Leave a comment! This is a re-direct to my Substack page.
Return to Limits to Progress Main Page
If you would like to send a donation, please send an Interac eTransfer to email address below. Thank you!
©2026 Kathleen McCroskey
Send your e-mail comments and questions to: