On Thursday, Russia warned that the security guarantees sought by Ukraine were “guarantees of danger to the European continent,” ahead of upcoming talks between President Zelensky and European leaders.
The Paris summit—co-chaired by the leaders of France and the UK—seeks to increase pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin after multiple failed attempts to secure a ceasefire in the three-year-long conflict.
“The ideas of the Kyiv leader, which are essentially a carbon copy of the initiatives of European sponsors… are absolutely unacceptable,” Moscow’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.
Speaking on the sidelines of an economic forum in Russia’s far east, Zakharova described Ukraine’s proposed guarantees as “a springboard for terror, for provocations against our country.”
“They are not guarantees of Ukraine’s security, they are guarantees of danger to the European continent,” she said.
Zelensky expressed confidence that Kyiv’s allies will support efforts to “increase pressure on Russia to move towards a diplomatic solution” to the conflict.
But he has also said he has yet to see “any signs from Russia that they want to end the war.”
