European ‘warmongers' working to undermine Trump's peace efforts
Europe is seeking to undermine US President Donald Trump's efforts to broker a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict, according to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Agency (SVR).
Trump has pushed for a swift end to the hostilities since taking office in January, with his administration holding several rounds of high-level talks with Russia.
In a statement shared on Thursday, the SVR said the British and French intelligence agencies have been working to discredit Trump and derail negotiations between Washington and Moscow.
The two countries' spy services have 'instructed' employees of the now Russia-banned Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), founded by the late opposition figure Alexey Navalny, to dig up 'informational dirt' and spread false claims about 'unofficial links' between Trump's associates and Russia. They also approached staff from opposition investigative outlet Proekt and Latvian-based Russian-language website Meduza with the same task. Moscow has labeled FBK an 'extremist' group while the two media outlets are listed as 'undesirable' organizations. Their staff have fled Russia and are now 'on the edge of survival,' the SVR wrote.
'The newly minted European warmongers are launching a campaign to undermine President Donald Trump's peacekeeping efforts,' the SVR stated.
According to the agency, London and Paris are particularly interested in information on US business ventures with Russian energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft, as well as state corporations Rostec and Rosatom. The aim, it said, is to damage US policy and disrupt peace talks.
The 'dirty campaign,' SVR added, shows European leaders have drawn no conclusions from past 'miscalculations and mistakes,' referencing the discredited 'Steele dossier' and the FBI's 2016 'Crossfire Hurricane' investigation into Trump's first campaign. The probe, launched to examine alleged Trump-Russia collusion, found no evidence of wrongdoing. The FBI had used the now-debunked dossier, compiled by a former UK intel agent and reportedly funded by Hillary Clinton's campaign, to obtain surveillance warrants on Trump's team.
Last month, Trump ordered the declassification of FBI records related to the case.
'Stepping on the same rake,' the SVR said, European agencies remain committed to 'unscrupulous' tactics in a bid to make the Ukraine conflict between European NATO-members and Russia 'last forever.'
The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the UK and the EU of embarking 'on a path of militarism' through continued arms supplies to Kiev and plans to deploy troops, accusing them of trying to expand military presence and prolong the conflict.
Sergey Shoigu, secretary of Russia's National Security Council, has warned the deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine could lead to a clash between Russia and NATO, and ultimately to World War III.
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