Russia accuses Europe of blocking Ukraine peace talks as Trump calls on Zelensky to ‘settle with Putin’

Russia’s foreign minister used his speech at the United Nations General Assembly to accuse Europe of blocking efforts to resolve the problem. conflict in Ukraine.

Moscow and kyiv have stepped up their attacks following the deadliest summer since 2022 – the year Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Russian attacks killed four people across Ukraine on Saturday, officials said, while kyiv continued to target Russian oil refineries and industrial sites with long-range drones.

U.S.-led efforts have failed to produce a permanent ceasefire or peace deal, with President Trump saying Saturday that he hoped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would “get along” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Europe of actively trying to block negotiations supported by the US government.

“Europe is doing everything it can to thwart the peace talks that the Trump administration is interested in,” Lavrov said in a fiery speech to the UN General Assembly.

“The goals of the special military operation will be achieved, the threat to Russian security will be eliminated and peaceful life will return. This will happen regardless of the circumstances,” he added, using Moscow’s terminology for the conflict.

Before his speech, Lavrov met with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul – the first meeting between foreign ministers from Moscow and Berlin since before the war.

The talks took place as tensions between Berlin and Moscow escalated, with Germany accusing Russia of orchestrating an attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport and each country ordering the closure of the other’s consulate.

European countries, including Germany, have sounded the alarm in recent days over what they see as an increase in Russian sabotage activities on their soil.

“The Russian war targets the lives of millions of innocent people, the existence of the Ukrainian state and culture and the European peace order,” Wadephul said in his own speech to the assembly on Saturday, urging Russia to negotiate to end the fighting.

Mr. Trump commented on his meeting with Zelensky at the UN General Assembly on Saturday, saying he hoped the Ukrainian leader would “come to terms” with Putin.

He said Saturday that Zelensky and Putin “get along” and that “one day, hopefully in the not too distant future, maybe before the harsh winter, they will make a deal.”

“You know what I want him to do? Make a deal,” Mr. Trump said, referring to Zelensky. “I want him to settle down with Putin, and I want Putin to settle down with him.”

Zelensky, who after Tuesday’s meeting said he was confident the White House could help stop Russia’s invasion of his country, said Saturday that Russia is “escalating every day.”

“If the Russians have chosen to make their strikes even more brutal, the world must choose stronger responses to prevent the war from spreading further,” he wrote on social media.