Several of Europe's top diplomats called out Russian President Vladimir Putin for failing to agree to a US-led peace proposal to end the war in Ukraine amid signs Washington has grown wary of the Kremlin's intentions during several weeks of talks.
Several of Europe's top diplomats, commenting during the second day of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on April 4, urged allies to put more pressure on Moscow to come to an agreement.
British Foreign Minister David Lammy called out Putin, saying the Russian leader "continues to obfuscate, continues to drag his feet" instead of agreeing to a deal Ukraine has already signed off on.
"He could accept a cease-fire now, he continues to bombard Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy supplies. We see you, Vladimir Putin, we know what you are doing," Lammy said.
NATO allies have been determined to present a united front to counter Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but the European allies feel their efforts have been marginalized.
US President Donald Trump has made ending Russia's more than three-year full-scale invasion of Ukraine a top priority since taking office for a second term just over two months ago, quickly dispatching his top officials to Moscow and Kyiv and beyond to clinch a peace deal.
Last month, however, Moscow rejected the US proposal for a full 30-day cease-fire. And while Ukraine and Russia did agree to a limited halt in attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, both have since accused the other of breaching the agreement.
Several foreign ministers at the NATO meeting have called for timelines to pressure Russia to come to an agreement, while German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called out Putin for so far making "nothing but empty promises."
She added that the Russian leader was "playing for time by raising ever new demands."
Trump appears to be losing patience with Putin, lashing out at him last week while threatening Russia with new tariffs on oil products if Moscow blocks his cease-fire initiatives.
During a phone interview with NBC News on March 30, Trump said he was "very angry" and "pissed off" when Putin called for a transitional government to be put in place in Ukraine, which could effectively push out current President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In what may be a bid to smooth the recent bumps that have emerged, Putin sent envoy Kirill Dmitriev to Washington this week to seek ways to improve bilateral relations that Trump has sought to reestablish after they broke down during the Biden administration over the invasion of Ukraine.
But European diplomats said pressure needs to be ratcheted up on Russia as they seek to convince Trump to harden his stance on Putin.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, standing next to Lammy in Brussels, said on April 4 that Russia "owes an answer to the United States" over its failure to agree to the US cease-fire proposal.
"Russia has been flip-flopping, continuing its strikes on energy infrastructure, continuing its war crimes," Barrot said.
"It has to be 'yes.' It has to be 'no.' It has to be a quick answer."
The NATO foreign ministers meeting is also looking at how to support Ukraine through the end of the war and afterward.
While Ukraine's membership in NATO is off the table for now, most European allies are keen to at least get assurances that US weapons will continue to go to Ukraine and that NATO's training mission for Ukrainian soldiers continues to operate.
However, the United States is no longer chairing the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known as the Ramstein group, which coordinates military support for Kyiv. The United Kingdom chaired the last meeting of the group in February, and the next one tentatively scheduled for April 11 could be co-chaired by the United Kingdom and France.
By RFE/RL
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