Galuzin noted, “Regarding the increasingly frequent statements by European leaders about the need for dialogue with Russia, especially to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, these statements continue to coexist with calls to inflict a strategic defeat on our country.”

The deputy foreign minister affirmed that this distorted logic is a clear sign that Europe can hardly offer truly constructive ideas nowadays.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow has no illusions about the European Union’s actual plans regarding its participation in resolving the conflict in Ukraine.

Lavrov said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is setting “rude and unrealistic” conditions for Moscow and its European sponsors to end the conflict.

Russia has been conducting a special military operation in Ukraine since February 24, 2022, to protect the Donbas population from “Kyiv regime’s genocide,” according to President Vladimir Putin.

It also aims to counter national security risks posed by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s eastward expansion.

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