The ambassadors of Britain, France and Germany met with senior officials at Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday, several days after the three countries held a summit in London to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
The three ambassadors reportedly met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin. Earlier in the week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hinted at the upcoming talks while claiming the ambassadors were “begging” to meet with his deputies.
“Everyone has been watching the EU attempt in recent days to step into the spotlight regarding the situation in Ukraine, making efforts toward what they view as a supposed settlement of the Ukrainian situation,” Lavrov said Wednesday.
He questioned whether the political leadership of Britain, France and Germany could propose “any constructive thoughts” on ending the war and accused them of “insulting” Russia and “resorting to personal attacks.”
“I’m not a big optimist, but when it comes to listening, we’ll listen,” Lavrov added.
The Moscow talks follow a weekend summit in London where British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to Bloomberg sources, the European leaders hope their unified diplomatic push will persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to join a coordinated effort to pressure Moscow into meaningful peace talks.
While European leaders have spent weeks floating the possibility of direct engagement with Russia, the Kremlin has dismissed the European Union as a viable mediator, repeatedly labeling the bloc a “direct participant” in the conflict.
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