MOSCOW – British, French and German ambassadors to Russia urged direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in a rare meeting at Russia’s foreign ministry on June 11, several days after a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The UK hosted Zelensky and the leaders of France and Germany earlier this week, supporting Kyiv’s call for direct talks with Russia to end more than four years of war.
The envoys met with Russia’s deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin.
Moscow earlier said the meeting would be held at the request of the ambassadors.
In a joint statement after the meeting, the three countries said they conveyed to the Russians the key conclusions of the UK summit, including “the support for president Zelensky’s urge to hold direct talks between Russia and Ukraine”.
Moscow said the ambassadors had been told of their countries’ “destructive” policy on Ukraine, accusing them of wanting to “continue the war against Russia on behalf of and at the expense of” European countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin this month rejected Zelensky’s offer for a face-to-face meeting to end the fighting.
In London, the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Friedrich Merz said they supported Zelensky’s proposal and that the current front line should be a “starting point for negotiations”.
European ambassadors have rarely held talks with the Russian authorities during Moscow’s four-year war against Ukraine and have been frequently summoned by the foreign ministry.
Several western European countries – including France – have floated the idea of restarting a dialogue with Moscow to end the Ukraine conflict, Europe’s worst since World War II.
US-led talks to end it have led nowhere and have been sidelined by the Iran war.
Russia has preferred to talk to US President Donald Trump’s administration on the conflict, with the Kremlin not wanting European countries involved.
The UK, France and Germany have been some of Kyiv’s staunchest allies during Moscow’s full-scale offensive. AFP
