Russia Accuses EU of Pressuring Trump Over Ukraine; Sees No Constructive Role in Peace Talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday accused European leaders of making “unethical” attempts to pressure the United States into altering its stance on Ukraine, claiming that Brussels had failed to offer any constructive diplomatic proposals during a recent summit in Washington.
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Referring to a White House meeting earlier in the week, he said Moscow observed only aggressive lobbying efforts aimed at swaying the U.S. administration.
“So far, we have only witnessed aggressive efforts to raise tensions, along with rather awkward and, in fact, unethical attempts to pressure the Trump administration and the U.S. president personally,” Lavrov said.
He was responding to questions about U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and several European leaders.
Lavrov asserted that the European delegations accompanying Zelensky to Washington failed to present any diplomatic framework or practical ideas.
“We did not hear the Europeans put forward any constructive ideas there,” he said.
In contrast, Lavrov praised the current U.S. administration’s engagement on the issue. “They have really been doing diplomacy with regard to Ukraine for several weeks… searching for mutually acceptable agreements that would address the root causes of the crisis and guarantee that the conflict will not resume,” he noted.
Lavrov also accused European countries of focusing solely on keeping the U.S. involved in supplying military aid to Ukraine, stating that they were attempting, with diminishing success, to ensure that weapons continued to flow to Kyiv via Washington.
The remarks come days after a high-level meeting at the White House on August 18, where President Trump hosted Ukrainian President Zelensky along with European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
During the meeting, President Trump called Russian President Vladimir Putin for a direct conversation. Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov confirmed that the two leaders spoke for around 40 minutes, discussing the possibility of raising the level of delegations and resuming direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv. Trump later announced that he had begun efforts to arrange a meeting between Putin and Zelensky.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump had earlier met on August 15 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska.
The closed-door summit lasted three hours and was attended only by key aides from both sides. According to Putin, the conflict in Ukraine topped the agenda of that meeting as well.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation, Kirill Dmitriev, accused European leaders of trying to obstruct efforts to normalise Moscow-Washington ties.
In a statement posted on Telegram, Dmitriev said, “European leaders are making every effort to prevent peace talks and the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States, covering themselves with talk of 'distrust' of Russia.”
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused European governments of fuelling the conflict by supporting Kyiv militarily while resisting diplomatic overtures.
Moscow claims that the current U.S. administration has shown greater willingness to pursue negotiations, unlike what it describes as the EU’s “destabilising” approach.