The UK, Germany, and France have failed to subdue Russia, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Grushko said

Ukraine's European backers have failed to defeat or weaken Russia, yet still want to prolong the conflict, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Grushko has said.

The diplomat argued that Britain, France, and Germany were not actually interested in achieving peace between Moscow and Kiev.

"These countries continue aiming to drag out the conflict. Stripping away the diplomatic language that cloaks their political actions, their primary objectives are Russia's defeat on the battlefield, its international isolation, economic strangulation, and regime change. All of these efforts have ended in a complete fiasco," Grushko told the news agency TASS on Monday.

Grushko added that the ultimate goal of the EU was to "weaken Russia as much as possible."

The German government has threatened to impose additional sanctions on Russia if Moscow refuses to accept a 30-day unconditional ceasefire proposed by Ukraine and backed by the EU. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has dismissed "the language of ultimatums" as unacceptable.

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to hold direct negotiations with Ukraine without preconditions in Türkiye on May 15. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has stated he was ready to meet Putin on Thursday, but only if Moscow first agrees to a truce.

The Russian-Ukrainian negotiations broke down in the spring of 2022 when both sides accused each other of making unrealistic demands. Putin said at the time that Ukrainian negotiators initially agreed to some of Russia's terms before abruptly leaving the talks.

Moscow has opposed Kiev's 30-day truce demand on the grounds that Ukraine would use the window to rearm and regroup its military. Putin also insisted that Ukraine must halt its mobilization drive and stop receiving weapons from abroad.

Putin has maintained that Ukraine must abandon its plans to join NATO and renounce claims on Crimea and four other regions that voted to join Russia.

(RT.com)