Moscow on Thursday issued a sharp rejection of a US- and Europe-backed proposal tied to efforts to end the war in Ukraine, a move that threatens to derail President Trump’s attempt to broker a settlement.
In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned that the initiative being advanced by Washington and its allies would deepen confrontation rather than calm it. “The new militarist declarations of the so-called Coalition of the Willing and the Kyiv regime are forming a true axis of war,” the ministry said. “Its participants’ plans are becoming increasingly more dangerous and destructive for the future of the European continent and its residents, who are also forced by Western politicians to pay for such ambitions out of their own pockets.”
Russian officials argued that the plan envisions a sustained Western military footprint in Ukraine after any ceasefire. “Its core element is the deployment of ‘a multinational force’ on Ukrainian territory that the coalition will have to form to contribute to the ‘rebuilding’ of the Ukrainian armed forces and ‘support deterrence’ following the cessation of the hostilities,” the ministry added.
According to Moscow, the broader framework offers little in the way of genuine reconciliation. “The document turned out to be extremely far from a peace settlement. The declaration is not aimed at achieving a lasting peace and security but rather at continuing the militarization, escalation and further conflict aggravation,” the ministry claimed.
The Russian response followed a meeting in Paris earlier this week, where Trump’s peace envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, joined European leaders in endorsing a five-point addendum focused on postwar security guarantees for Ukraine. That package outlines “critical long term military assistance” to Kyiv, the creation of a “European-led” multinational peacekeeping force, continued arms support, and the threat of renewed sanctions “in the case of a future armed attack by Russia,” along with “mutually beneficial defence cooperation with Ukraine.”
The addendum is tied to a broader 20-point peace proposal intended to halt the fighting. Should the security guarantees be turned down — a condition Ukraine has demanded — the entire framework for ending the conflict could collapse.
Russia also rejected the continuation of Trump’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, which enables European countries to purchase US-manufactured weapons for delivery to Ukraine as a deterrent against future aggression. “The document also includes clauses on further consolidation of Ukraine’s and NATO’s military industrial sectors,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Officials in Moscow contend that the overall approach would effectively grant Ukraine NATO-style protections without formal membership, locking in Western influence while, in their view, leaving Russia vulnerable.
In a separate section of its statement, the Foreign Ministry criticized the recent US seizure of the Bella 1 oil tanker, later renamed the Marinera while flying a Russian flag. Moscow said the action violated international maritime law and endangered freedom of navigation. “The use of force in international waters against a civilian vessel can only be interpreted as a gross violation of fundamental principles and norms,” the ministry said. “… This constitutes a material infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of the vessel owner.”
Russian officials further alleged that Trump’s directives in the matter could trigger serious international tensions and erode established maritime standards.
Washington, however, maintains that the seizure was lawful, noting that the United States is not a party to the UN maritime convention and asserting that the vessel was taken for breaching a US blockade on Venezuelan oil ports.
{Matzav.com}
