Europe Wants to Stop Fighting Because It Wants to Keep Fighting – Russian Diplomat

The West is trying to extend the war in Ukraine by calling for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko claimed.

Grushko’s comments on Tuesday came after the West issued an ultimatum on Saturday to Moscow to comply with a 30-day ceasefire starting Monday or face more sanctions, which has been ignored by the latter.

Grushko, in an interview with Russian state media TASS, claimed the West’s call to stop fighting is actually to prolong the fighting.

“It is obvious that these countries continue the policy of extending the conflict. If we strip down the double talk which they use to frame their political actions, the main thing they are seeking is Russia’s defeat on the battlefield, Russia’s international isolation, its economic smothering and regime change,” Grushko said in response to the ceasefire ultimatum.

“On all four of these fronts, they have failed utterly. But, nevertheless, this has not cooled their desire to achieve what they want,” he added.

Grushko claimed that Europe’s alleged shifty stance means it is not sincere about a ceasefire, despite the unconditional ceasefire being on the agenda in March’s US-brokered Saudi talks with Moscow’s participation.

“As for their positions at the current moment, you know, it is very difficult for me to comment on this because exactly three weeks ago the positions were completely opposite,” Grushko said.

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“I will remind you that French President [Emmanuel] Macron, in addressing the nation, said that France does not support a fragile truce. A truce of 30 days, is it not fragile? So today they say one thing, and tomorrow they will say another,” he added.

He claimed that the ceasefire’s goal, as part of Europe’s policy, is to “weaken Russia as much as possible.”

“But if we assess the European policy on Ukrainian affairs as a whole, it is quite obvious that it is a policy to prolong the conflict and weaken Russia as much as possible,” he concluded.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Sunday called for direct talks with Kyiv in Turkey on May 15 in response to the ultimatum, without addressing the ultimatum itself.

Putin said Moscow wants to address the so-called “root cause” of its invasion, with the Kremlin’s previous choice of the term being a neutered Ukraine and exclusion of NATO in Eastern Europe, effectively translating to Kyiv’s capitulation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would attend the talks in person regardless and called for Putin to do the same, with Zelensky’s aide later adding that Zelensky will talk to Putin and Putin only.

Putin has not confirmed who will show up at the time of publication.

Russia has annexed five Ukrainian regions, including Crimea, but only controls parts of them. It has ruled out a ceasefire along the contact lines and vowed to capture all regions in recent months.

At present, Moscow controls nearly the entirety of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, the majority of the Donetsk region, and only parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.