RT-Engels: 27-03-2025,
The Russian leader has stated that Moscow will no longer tolerate diplomatic deception
President Vladimir Putin has emphasized that Moscow’s trust in European capitals has been fundamentally broken, stating that while Russia remains open to working with the EU to resolve the Ukraine conflict, it will no longer do so on the basis of trust.
The remarks came during Putin’s meeting with Russian submarine crews following the launch of a new nuclear sub on Thursday, in the context of what Putin described as a “sincere” effort by US President Donald Trump to find a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. While expressing cautious optimism toward Washington, the Russian leader made clear that Europe is no longer regarded as a trustworthy interlocutor.
“We are ready to work with Europe,” Putin said. “But they behave inconsistently and keep trying to string us along. That’s fine – we’re used to it now. I hope we won’t make any more mistakes based on trust in our so-called Western partners.”
Putin accused Western leaders – particularly in France, Germany, and the UK – of manipulating previous peace efforts, especially the Minsk Agreements, as a tactic to buy time and rearm Ukraine.
“Unfortunately, former leaders of some Western countries – specifically former [French President Hollande] and former [German Chancellor Angela Merkel] – openly and without shame admitted that they only needed the Minsk Agreements to rearm the Ukrainian regime and prepare it for military action against us,” Putin said.