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Russia Seeks Middle East Peace Role While Killing Ukrainians, Says EU Kallas
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
Russian leader Vladimir Putin “cannot be trusted” to mediate peace in the Middle East while continuing to wage war on civilians in Ukraine, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on June 17, following a massive Russian missile attack on Kyiv that killed at least 24 people and wounded over 130.
“Clearly, President Putin is not somebody who can talk about peace while we see actions like this,” Kallas said at a press conference in Brussels.
“He’s not a mediator that can really be considered. Russia cannot be a mediator if they don’t really believe in peace.”
Kallas’ comments came amid renewed Russian attempts to position itself as a peace broker in the growing tensions between Israel and Iran. On June 17, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Israel appeared unwilling to accept Moscow’s offer of mediation.
Just two days earlier, President Donald Trump had said Putin had expressed readiness to help mediate between Tel Aviv and Tehran.
France quickly rejected the idea, and European leaders have echoed similar doubts, citing Russia’s military alignment with Iran, which has supplied Moscow with drones and missiles used in attacks against Ukrainian cities.
Kallas directly addressed Iran’s complicity in these assaults.
“Iran has helped Russia do these attacks… their cooperation is working in this regard,” she stated.
The EU’s top diplomat also called for urgent action on sanctions, urging member states to move ahead with lowering the price cap on Russian oil exports, even without the support of the United States.
Kallas warned that escalating tensions in the Middle East could lead to higher global oil prices, which in turn could boost Moscow’s war chest.
“The whole idea of the oil price cap is to lower the prices,” she said. “We shouldn’t end up in a situation where the crisis in the Middle East increases oil prices and makes Russia earn more… that would mean they can fund their war machine on a bigger scale.”
Earlier, Trump said he is delaying the introduction of new sanctions against Russia, citing the possibility of a deal to end the war in Ukraine.
