Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed European leaders as potential mediators in peace talks with Ukraine, arguing that countries supplying Kyiv with weapons cannot claim neutrality.
Speaking to foreign journalists in St. Petersburg late Thursday, Putin said the EU and its member states were disqualified from brokering an end to the war because they are directly supporting Ukraine.
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“How can the EU or individual EU countries serve as mediators when they are directly assisting the country with which we are in an armed conflict?”
“Mediation implies neutrality,” Putin added.
His remarks came as Germany, France and the UK reportedly explore a diplomatic initiative aimed at bringing Russia and Ukraine back to the negotiating table. According to officials familiar with the discussions, the three countries have also consulted Ukrainian counterparts about possible talks.
Putin instead pointed to what he described as a compromise peace framework agreed with US President Donald Trump during their summit in Anchorage, Alaska, last year.
He said Europe could help end the war only by persuading Kyiv to accept Russian demands rather than continuing military support.
The Kremlin leader again insisted that any settlement would require Ukraine to surrender the entire Donetsk region, including areas Russian forces have failed to seize despite more than a decade of fighting.
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Kyiv has repeatedly rejected those demands and has proposed freezing the conflict along current front lines as part of a broader peace agreement.
The diplomatic wrangling comes as US-led negotiations have largely stalled, with Washington increasingly focused on tensions with Iran.
European leaders reportedly believe mounting Russian battlefield losses and growing economic pressure inside Russia could create an opening for renewed negotiations.
Late Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly challenged Putin to meet face-to-face to discuss ending the war.
“I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting,” Zelensky said in an open letter. “Ukrainian and European issues are not decided in Anchorage.”
Zelensky stressed that both Europe and the US must be involved in any future peace process, arguing that a settlement should help establish a new security framework for the continent.
Putin, however, questioned whether Europe had any representatives Moscow could trust in negotiations. He even floated former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, long criticized for his close ties to the Kremlin, as a potential figure capable of playing a role.
At the same time, the Russian president sought to project confidence on the battlefield, claiming Russian troops continue to advance in Ukraine despite months of grinding attritional warfare.
He also hinted at further use of Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik missile system following a recent strike that marked the weapon’s first reported combat use since January.
“We counted everything down to the millimeter,” Putin said, suggesting the strike was intended to assess the missile’s effectiveness.
He added that the results would inform decisions about the “full-scale use” of Oreshnik missiles in the future, including against urban targets.
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