Ukraine’s President to Visit White House on Friday; Russia Accuses UK and France of Escalating Conflict
The President of Ukraine is set to visit the White House on Friday, as tensions in the region remain high. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has accused the UK and France of further escalating the conflict in Ukraine, citing discussions about deploying a European peacekeeping force in the country if a peace deal is reached.
Speaking in Qatar, Lavrov claimed that Europe’s approach to the war is focused on intensifying hostilities rather than addressing its root causes. He argued that the balance of power in Europe has shifted and accused European nations of attempting to undermine this with additional military aid packages for Ukraine.
Lavrov dismissed the peacekeeping proposals from London and Paris as deceptive, alleging they were intended to flood Ukraine with more weapons, further integrating it into NATO’s sphere and infringing on the rights of Russian-speaking populations.
Additionally, Lavrov announced an upcoming US-Russia meeting in Istanbul on Thursday and accused European nations of falsely claiming that Russia is unwilling to negotiate. Moscow has repeatedly stated its openness to talks, though it insists on territorial and security conditions that Kyiv has rejected.
Separately, the Kremlin declined to comment on reports of a proposed US-Ukraine agreement allowing the United States to extract rare minerals from Ukraine as compensation for military aid. Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly offered to sell Russian rare earth minerals—including those sourced from Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine—to US companies.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also stated that no discussions had taken place with China regarding the potential deployment of Chinese troops in a peacekeeping role in Ukraine in the event of an agreement.
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