Russian foreign minister accuses Europe of blocking Ukraine peace talks

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

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

Efforts led by the U.S. have failed to produce a permanent ceasefire and peace deal, with President Trump saying on Saturday that he hoped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would “settle” with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Europe of actively trying to block talks supported by the U.S. government.

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

“The aims of the special military operation will be achieved, the threat to Russian security will be eliminated and peaceful life will come back. This will happen no matter 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 Moscow and Berlin’s foreign ministers since before the war.

The talks took place as tensions between Berlin and Moscow intensified, 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 say are increased Russian sabotage activities on their soil.

“Russia’s 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 address to the assembly Saturday, urging Russia to negotiate toward ending the fighting.

Mr. Trump commented on Saturday on his meeting with Zelenskyy at the U.N. General Assembly, saying that he hoped the Ukrainian leader would “settle” with Putin.

He said Saturday that Zelenskyy and Putin were “going along” and that “someday, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, maybe before the heavy winter, they’ll make a deal.”

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

Zelenskyy, who after the meeting on Tuesday said he trusted the White House could help end Russia’s invasion of his country, said on Saturday that Russia is “escalating every single day.”

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