Russia says European peace plan shows EU, Kyiv ignore root causes of conflict
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismisses EU-Ukraine plan as 'ultimatum'
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
MOSCOW
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday that the European Peace Plan for Ukraine demonstrates that Kyiv and the EU are not prepared to work toward eradicating the root causes of the conflict.
In a statement, Zakharova said the plan suggests that neither Ukraine nor the EU is considering "any fair and lasting peaceful settlement."
"They still think in terms of war and currently consider their main task to achieve a respite for the defeated Ukrainian armed forces at any cost," she said. "Therefore, an early cease-fire and a 'freeze' of the current line of contact are being put in the foreground."
The Europeans have tried to blur their unacceptable and largely ultimatum-like proposals for Russia with provisions that create the illusion of taking into account Russian interests, she added.
The EU has called for freezing the current contact line in Ukraine, and then negotiate an end to the war that continues since 2022. Russia, however, argues that the root causes of the conflict should be addressed before any ceasefire.
Zakharova highlighted that the EU promises the gradual lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of Russian assets, conditional on Kyiv agreeing to certain "compensations," which Moscow interprets as the payment of "reparations" to Ukraine.
"According to the logic of the authors of the 'plan,' all this will create prerequisites for the start of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations on the management of territories that they call 'occupied,' although their residents unequivocally supported joining Russia in a referendum," she said.
Zakharova said that if Europeans genuinely desired peace, the first points of their plan would be demands for the restoration of the Russian language in Ukraine, canonical Orthodoxy, a neutral non-aligned status, respect for human rights and national minorities, recognition of territorial realities based on the right of peoples to self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter, as well as an end to the policy of illegal sanctions and the seizure of state assets.
