Russia will never blindly trust ‘Western partners' again
President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Moscow's trust in European capitals has been fundamentally broken, stating that while Russia remains open to working with the EU to resolve the Ukraine conflict, it will no longer do so on the basis of trust.
The remarks came during Putin's meeting with Russian submarine crews following the launch of a new nuclear sub on Thursday, in the context of what Putin described as a
'sincere'
effort by US President Donald Trump to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. While expressing cautious optimism toward Washington, the Russian leader made clear that Europe is no longer regarded as a trustworthy interlocutor.
'We are ready to work with Europe,'
Putin said.
'But they behave inconsistently and keep trying to string us along. That's fine – we're used to it now. I hope we won't make any more mistakes based on trust in our so-called Western partners.'
Putin accused Western leaders – particularly in France, Germany, and the UK – of manipulating previous peace efforts, especially the Minsk Agreements, as a tactic to buy time and rearm Ukraine.
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'Unfortunately, former leaders of some Western countries – specifically former [French President Hollande] and former [German Chancellor Angela Merkel] – openly and without shame admitted that they only needed the Minsk Agreements to rearm the Ukrainian regime and prepare it for military action against us,'
Putin said.
He added that European diplomacy had become little more than a smokescreen.
'We tried to resolve these issues peacefully for eight years,'
he said.
'Even when the conflict entered a hot phase in 2022, we still proposed to solve everything at the negotiating table.'
Putin singled out former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as having played a decisive role in derailing the 2022 Istanbul peace talks.
'It is well known that Western handlers... arrived and persuaded the Ukrainian leadership to continue armed resistance to the end, essentially to the last Ukrainian, with the goal of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia,'
he said.
Despite the past breaches of trust, Putin maintained that Russia is still open to dialogue – including with European capitals – but stressed that future agreements must rest on firm, enforceable guarantees.
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Putin proposes the UN to temporary govern Ukraine
As part of this approach, he floated the idea of placing Ukraine under a temporary international administration. He suggested that a UN-led transitional authority could organize elections and establish a legitimate government capable of negotiating a lasting peace.
'Of course, it would be possible – under the UN's auspices and together with the United States, European countries, and our partners – to discuss the introduction of temporary administration in Ukraine,'
Putin said.
'In order to hold democratic elections and bring a capable, trusted government to power, with whom we could then sign legally binding agreements.'
He concluded by reaffirming that any resolution must address Russia's long-term strategic interests.
'We must, without question, ensure Russia's security for the long historical perspective,'
he said.
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