The belligerence of Kiev’s EU backers will only push them into greater isolation, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said
The aggressive position of Ukraine’s EU backers makes them unfit to take part in the peace process, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. Their desire to push divisive narratives will only harm their own relations with the international community, it added.
The actions of the EU nations that actively support Ukraine show that they have “embarked on a path of militarism” and “lost the right” to take part in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, according to the Foreign Ministry.
It was commenting on two competing resolutions on Ukraine that were submitted to the UN General Assembly on Monday to mark the third year of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev. One of them was initiated by Kiev and its EU backers and condemned Russia.
Moscow blasted the document for “recycling baseless accusations and ultimatums against Russia, selective citation of the UN Charter” and ignoring the root causes of the conflict. According to the ministry, the resolution was aimed at increasing international support for the ‘Zelensky peace formula’ – Kiev’s plan for resolving the conflict based on a set of demands and preconditions that Russia has called unacceptable.
The document received record low support in the UN General Assembly, the Foreign Ministry said, adding that more than half of the UN members did not back it. The resolution was endorsed by 93 nations and opposed by 18, with 65 abstentions. The remaining members of the 193-strong body did not vote.
The competing resolution put forward by the US, which initially only expressed sorrow for the loss of life in the conflict and called for a sustainable peace, was “turned into yet another anti-Russian pamphlet” through “obnoxious” amendments introduced by Kiev’s EU backers, the ministry stated.
“The meaning of the initiative was distorted to a point when even its US authors could not endorse their own document,” the Russian statement said. The EU nations’ delegates tried to delay the vote on a similar US-sponsored resolution at the UN Security Council, it added.
These actions run counter to the will of the international community, Moscow said, warning that Kiev’s EU backers could end up isolated due to their belligerent stance.
The EU and some of its member states stepped up their aggressive rhetoric this month after Moscow and Washington announced plans to restore ties and work on resolving the Ukraine conflict. On Monday, the bloc adopted its 16th package of Ukraine-related restrictions, marking the anniversary of the launch of the Russian military operation against Kiev in February 2022.
Shortly after assuming office in January, US President Donald Trump pivoted Washington’s stance on Ukraine. Trump recently claimed that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky is responsible for escalating the conflict and declared that Zelensky’s participation in meetings between Washington and Russia is unnecessary.
Top EU diplomat and former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas accused the US of adopting a “Russian narrative” under the new administration and stated that Brussels should “support Ukraine right now more than ever.”
