News - World: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow is not seeking conflict with Europe but warned that Russia is fully prepared to respond if European countries choose to escalate tensions.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, shortly before meeting US President Donald Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, at the Kremlin, Putin criticized European governments for obstructing efforts to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine.

“We are not planning to go to war with Europe – I’ve said that many times – but if Europe suddenly wants to fight us, we are ready immediately. There can be no doubt about that.”

“Europe is preventing the US administration from achieving peace in Ukraine,” Putin said, adding that European demands are “not acceptable to Russia.”

Trump’s envoys are meeting Putin in Moscow to discuss a 28-point peace plan developed last month by US and Russian officials.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the discussions with the US delegation would continue “as long as needed.”

Trump briefly referenced the ongoing talks in Russia during a cabinet meeting in Washington, saying his "people are over in Russia right now to see if we can get it settled."

European governments and Ukraine have pushed back against earlier terms, which they claimed heavily favored Moscow, including proposals for Ukrainian withdrawal from eastern Donbas cities, limits on the size of Kiev’s military, and restrictions on joining NATO.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Washington and Kiev have agreed on a revised 20-point peace framework.

Speaking during a visit to Dublin, he said that “some details still need to be worked out” and that European proposals had been refined based on earlier Geneva discussions.

European leaders have struggled to exert influence over the peace process, offering a so-called “coalition of the willing” led by France and Britain to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine. Russia has rejected the idea.

As negotiations drag on, Europe remains deeply divided over how to exert influence on the peace process. 

European leaders have so far failed to agree on a proposal to use hundreds of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets held across the bloc to fund a 140-billion-euro loan to Ukraine that would support Kiev.

The dispute has exposed growing rifts within the EU, with some member states pushing for an assertive approach to pressure Moscow, while others warn that such a move risks legal challenges, economic retaliation, and further escalating tensions with Russia.

Source: Press TV