Brussels is pushing military aid for Kiev as Moscow and Washington try to achieve peace in the Ukraine conflict, Dmitry Peskov has said

The EU is working to prolong the Ukraine conflict while Russia and the US are attempting to end it through their "intense" diplomatic contacts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

Western European defense chiefs met last week to discuss the idea of sending a so-called "reassurance" force to Ukraine, which is being actively pushed by the UK and France despite escalation warnings from Moscow. In March, the European Commission proposed an $840 billion rearmament plan for the bloc, supposedly to deter Russia and to continue military aid to Kiev.

Peskov told journalists on Tuesday that "we must understand that at the moment there is intense work going on between Moscow and Washington. And it is happening in the name of peace. And against this background, the European countries continue to work in the name of war."

European NATO members "declare in every way their intention to keep supporting Ukraine and the Kiev regime in its desire to continue the war," he added.

At the same time, "there is a direct exchange of information" going on between Moscow and Washington, the spokesman said, referring to talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg last week. The visit was already Witkoff's third to Russia since Washington and Moscow moved toward normalizing relations.

Other channels of communication between the two countries are also being used, Peskov added.

However, the Kremlin spokesman stressed that finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict "is so complex that it is hardly possible to expect immediate results."

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov condemned plans by Western European nations to deploy their troops to Ukraine, accusing them of trying to strengthen their anti-Russian foothold in the country instead of seeking a real settlement.

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Western servicemen will protect "the same regime" in Kiev, Lavrov said, adding that even if European NATO members agree to allow a new election in Ukraine, they will make every effort to ensure that the political landscape remains the same and find "some new half-Fuhrer" to take the place of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky.

(RT.com)