Russia: EU Negotiator's Qualities Irrelevant Amid Unacceptable EU Conditions

GENEVA, July 2. /TASS/. The personal qualities of a potential EU negotiator will be inconsequential as long as Brussels continues to present conditions for ending the Ukrainian conflict that Moscow finds unacceptable and tantamount to capitulation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin has stated.

Galuzin reiterated that the Russian side has consistently maintained that the EU’s representative should be someone who "has not said or done anything offensive towards Russia." However, he emphasized that the core issue transcends individual personalities. "The real concern is what the EU, or the collective West, intends to bring to the negotiations and what directives this negotiator will follow," Galuzin explained. Given the current "ultimatums and unacceptable demands" from the West - demands which, in essence, call for Russia’s capitulation - he argued that the negotiator’s identity or personal qualities are irrelevant.

Galuzin pointed out that the EU is currently insisting on an immediate ceasefire to allow Ukrainian forces to re-equip and regroup. He suggested that this pause is intended to enable Ukraine to recover and then resume aggressive actions against Russia. Such an approach, he said, is "absolutely incompatible with Moscow's position," which advocates for achieving a long-term, just peace by addressing the fundamental causes of the conflict. Among these, he highlighted the need to eliminate security threats to Russia from the West and to restore the rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine.