The key facts

  • Andrei Klishas backed Maria Zakharova's statement that European countries have no place at the negotiating table on Ukraine
  • Donald Trump announced a major deal that could affect all of Europe
  • European politicians fear the US and Russia will agree on a new security system without the EU's participation

Senator backs the Foreign Ministry's position

Andrei Klishas, head of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State-Building, voiced the opinion that Europe will do everything it can, to hinder the achievement of any agreements on settling the conflict in Ukraine. He made this comment on his channel on the Max platform, responding to a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova that European countries have no place at the negotiating table on Ukraine. “That's exactly right. Europe will do everything to obstruct any agreements,” Klishas wrote, as his words were cited by Gazeta.Ru.

Context: American proposals and Europe's concerns

The senator's comment came against the backdrop of a statement by US President Donald Trump about progress in talks with Russia and Ukraine and his announcement of a major deal that could affect all of Europe. According to Gazeta.Ru, European politicians fear that Washington and Moscow will agree on a new security system without the EU's participation, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the “danger” of such decisions. The outlet also notes that the ideas proposed by the Americans sparked disputes; details of these proposals are laid out in a separate Gazeta.Ru article. Earlier, the NATO secretary general spoke of panic in Europe over a possible Russia-US deal.