US President Donald Trump was today humiliated by Russia after Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rubbished a claim he made about Vladimir Putin and European peacekeepers in Ukraine earlier this week
Donald Trump has seemingly been shown up by Russia, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov directly contradicting something the US President boldly declared earlier this week.
US and Russian officials are set to meet for a second round of Ukraine peace talks tomorrow. “Such a meeting will take place tomorrow in Istanbul. I think that its results will show how quickly and effectively we can move forward,” Lavrov told Russian state media today.
However, the meeting might be somewhat more frosty than the first round of talks after Lavrov said Russia would not accept European peacekeepers in Ukraine under any circumstances.
“We cannot consider any options [regarding European peacekeepers],” he said. “Trump said that a decision on the deployment of peacekeeping forces would only be possible with the consent of both sides. Apparently referring to us and Ukraine. Nobody has asked us about this.
“This approach, which is being imposed by the Europeans, primarily France, but also the British, is aimed at what I just mentioned: to further fuel the conflict and to stop any attempts to calm it down.” Lavrov also said Moscow still wants to keep full control over the four Ukrainian regions it claims as its own.
It came after Trump said Vladimir Putin was coming around to the idea of European peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine as part of a deal to bring the war to an end. “He will accept that. I have asked him that question,” Trump said earlier this week. “Look, if we do this deal, he’s not looking for more war… I’ve specifically asked him that question. He has no problem with it.”
Keir Starmer, who is due to hold talks with Trump on Thursday, said he would be ready to send British troops to Ukraine as part of any post-war peacekeeping force. French President Emmanuel Macron has also spoken out in favour of the idea.