Identity of EU negotiator irrelevant as long as EU demands Russia's capitulation — MFA

Lead

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said the personal qualities of a potential EU negotiator are inconsequential as long as Brussels continues to present conditions for ending the Ukrainian conflict that Moscow finds unacceptable and tantamount to capitulation, as reported by TASS.

Galuzin reiterated that Russia has consistently maintained that the EU’s representative should be someone who "has not said or done anything offensive towards Russia." However, he emphasized that the core issue transcends individual personalities. "The real concern is what the EU, or the collective West, intends to bring to the negotiations and what directives this negotiator will follow," Galuzin explained. Given the current "ultimatums and unacceptable demands" from the West—demands that, in essence, call for Russia’s capitulation—he argued that the negotiator’s identity or personal qualities are irrelevant.

Coverage Comparison

The reports from TASS focus on two related statements by Galuzin. In one, he addressed the question of an EU negotiator, stressing that the identity of the person is irrelevant while the bloc’s demands remain unacceptable. In another, he spoke about the approaches to the Ukrainian peace process chosen by Germany, the United Kingdom, and France, describing them as ultimatums that Moscow finds unacceptable.

A single news organisation, TASS, reported both statements. The reports do not include reactions from the EU or the three countries mentioned.

Key Claims

• Galuzin said the EU is insisting on an immediate ceasefire to allow Ukrainian forces to re-equip and regroup, a pause he suggested is intended to enable Ukraine to recover and then resume aggressive actions against Russia.
• Russia advocates for achieving a long-term, just peace by addressing the fundamental causes of the conflict, including eliminating security threats to Russia from the West and restoring the rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine.
• Galuzin said Berlin, London, and Paris have chosen approaches to the Ukrainian peace process that sound like ultimatums, and Moscow finds them unacceptable.
• He met with ambassadors to the European trio at the Foreign Ministry, a meeting organized at the ambassadors’ request. Galuzin said he made clear that the language of ultimatums, as reflected in the so-called London statement, is unsuitable and unacceptable for Russia a priori.