Britain and France have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of delaying ceasefire talks aimed at ending Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and have called for a swift response from Moscow following U.S. efforts to secure a ceasefire.
Russia has effectively rejected an American proposal for a full 30-day halt to the fighting, while Ukraine has accepted Washington’s plan.
“In our opinion, Putin continues to obfuscate the situation, he continues to delay the process,” said British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, speaking to reporters at NATO headquarters alongside his French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot.
The Kremlin’s envoy, who visited Washington this week for talks with U.S. officials under President Donald Trump’s administration, said further meetings would be needed to resolve outstanding issues.
Kirill Dmitriev told Russian reporters, “Dialogue requires time, but it is moving positively and constructively.”
He criticized what he called a “coordinated media campaign and efforts by some politicians to disrupt U.S.-Russia relations, distort what Russia is saying, and present Russia and its leadership negatively.”
Britain and France are leading the multilateral effort known as the “coalition of the willing,” aiming to create a security force that would be deployed in Ukraine should a ceasefire agreement be reached in the future.
A senior Ukrainian official said earlier this week that between 10 and 12 countries have said they will join this coalition, reports REL.
Lammy said that while Putin must accept a ceasefire agreement, “he continues to bomb Ukraine. He is bombing its civilian population, its energy supplies. We see what Putin is doing, we know what he is doing.”
Barrot said that Ukraine accepted the ceasefire conditions three weeks ago, and now Russia “owes the U.S. a response.”
“Russia is stalling the process, continuing attacks on energy infrastructure, and continuing war crimes,” Barrot said. “It must say ‘yes’ and it must give a swift response.”
According to the French minister, Russia has shown no signs of wanting to stop its military campaign, recalling that on Monday, Putin ordered the recruitment of 160,000 new soldiers for mandatory military service for a year.
Both ministers pledged to continue helping Ukraine strengthen its military, as Kyiv has been facing the invasion launched by Moscow since 2022.
