EU trying to derail Putin-Trump summit – Moscow

The bloc keeps doing all it can to escalate the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says

The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the EU of trying to undermine the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Budapest.

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS news agency that the bloc was carrying out “active subversive actions” ahead of the meeting.

Her comments followed a report in Spain’s El País that said Brussels viewed the talks as “a political nightmare.” Citing diplomatic sources, the paper said the summit put the EU “in an awkward and unpleasant position” because Putin and Trump would discuss a potential settlement to the Ukraine conflict in an EU country without the bloc’s participation.

Zakharova said on Monday that the “aggressive Western European community” wanted to “derail any peaceful aspirations” related to the conflict. “We are seeing statements, threats being made,” she said.

The Western Europeans are “obviously, doing everything to escalate the conflict” between Moscow and Kiev, the spokeswoman stressed. They have been acting this way since 2022 when they “thwarted” the peace talks between the sides in Istanbul, she added.

Read more

Zelensky ready for negotiations with Russia ‘in any format’

According to former Ukrainian head negotiator David Arakhamia, Ukraine withdrew from dialogue with Russia after then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Kiev and urged Vladimir Zelensky to keep fighting. The former UK PM has strongly denied the claim.

According to Zakharova, sporadic statements about the need for peace coming from the EU capitals and London are just “camouflage.”

“In reality, they are doing everything they can to achieve escalation. It is difficult to say if they actually understand what they are doing, given how many non-professionals there are at the helms of all these Western European countries,” she noted.

The announcement that Putin and Trump are going to meet in Budapest was made after the two leaders spoke by phone for nearly two and a half hours on Thursday.

READ MORE: Orban reveals why Hungary will host Putin-Trump summit

According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the venue was proposed by Trump, with Putin “instantly supporting” the idea. The summit could take place within the next two weeks or slightly later, Peskov said.