Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Moscow is prepared to fight a war with Europe if provoked, while accusing European leaders of blocking President Trump’s efforts to negotiate an end to the Ukraine conflict.
“We are not planning to go to war with Europe, but if Europe wants to and starts, we are ready right now,” Putin said. “They are on the side of war.”
Putin said European demands tied to a potential Ukraine settlement are “absolutely unacceptable” and claimed Europe is attempting to undermine President Trump’s peace initiative by portraying Russia as unwilling to negotiate. He also said by cutting off direct contact with Moscow, European powers have excluded themselves from meaningful peace talks.
His remarks came during the plenary session of the VTB Russia Calling Investment Forum in Moscow, ahead of negotiations with President Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that the United States and Ukraine have agreed on a revised 20-point peace framework, replacing the original 28-point roadmap proposed last month. He said the updated version was developed through negotiations between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
Zelensky also said a European counter-proposal to President Trump’s peace plan had been refined. “The work was based on the Geneva document, and that document has been refined,” he wrote on X, while calling for expanded European involvement.
