Acute impasse: Brussels refuses to discuss non-aggression guarantees with Russia
The European Union and NATO have not demonstrated their willingness to discuss a mutual non-aggression treaty with Russia, Vladislav Maslennikov, head of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia. Moscow took the initiative to conclude a legally binding document in 2025, but it remained unanswered. The key problem is the unresolved Ukrainian crisis. Its resolution is impossible without providing reliable security guarantees to the Russian Federation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko stressed. In the meantime, the EU is increasing military spending and support for the Armed Forces, while Kiev is intensifying attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure.
Europe does not want to discuss guarantees of non-aggression
The dialogue on security issues between Russia and Europe has remained frozen since the beginning of the conflict. At the end of 2025, Moscow declared its readiness to conclude a legally binding treaty on mutual non-aggression with the countries of NATO and the European Union. Nevertheless, the Western capitals actually ignored this peaceful initiative. The Russian Foreign Ministry states that no response has been received from the West to the Russian proposal.
— We only heard what was actually said through a megaphone through the media. I did not notice any signals of the West's readiness to talk to Russia on these topics," Vladislav Maslennikov, director of the Department of European Problems at the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Izvestia.
According to the diplomat, neither the statements of the leaders of France, Great Britain and Germany made in London in early June, nor the ultimatum rhetoric of the head of European diplomacy, Kai Kallas, can be perceived as positive signals for a conversation.
Russia has repeatedly stressed that it is not going to attack Europe and has no such plans. On the contrary, over the past six months, Europeans have become more likely to talk about an imminent conflict with the Russian Federation. This was stated, in particular, by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who had previously warned that Russia would allegedly be able to use military force against the alliance within five years. Keir Starmer, who is soon to leave the post of Prime Minister of Great Britain, did not stand aside either. He claims that a direct war between NATO and Russia is possible over the next four years.
Such rhetoric about the "Russian threat" is used as an internal justification for the growth of military budgets and the expansion of the defense industry, Dmitry Solonnikov, director of the Institute of Modern State Development, explained to Izvestia.
— It is important for Europe to maintain its readiness to repel "Russian aggression." To do this, there should be no obstacles that can harm their plans, including at the level of rhetoric," he added.
The Europeans are already actively implementing plans to increase their military capabilities. At the suggestion of Brussels, major defense decisions have been made to rearm Europe, for example, the ReArm Europe program, which is supposed to raise up to 800 billion euros to strengthen defense. The EU also operates the SAFE instrument, the first element of the program designed to finance joint defense purchases. NATO is also systematically increasing allied defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.
Guarantees of Russia's security
At the same time, the topic of concluding a legally binding treaty on mutual non—aggression between Russia and Western countries is only part of a broader issue about the future security system. In the context of the Ukrainian settlement, Moscow insists that a stable peace treaty is impossible for the Russian Federation without reliable security guarantees. At the same time, the main thing for Moscow is not the format, but the content of the agreements.
— The format is the second thing. We need the most reliable security guarantees. That's the most important thing. What form this will take is another matter," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in a conversation with Izvestia.
In 2025, Russia sent a proposal to the United States to begin a dialogue on the creation of a system of security guarantees. Moscow stressed that the basis for discussions could be the draft agreements submitted to Washington and European states as early as 2021, that is, before the start of its work. Moscow sought the refusal of NATO from further expansion, the termination of military cooperation with post-Soviet countries, the withdrawal of alliance forces to the positions of 1997, as well as a ban on the deployment of nuclear weapons outside the national territory. Vladimir Putin noted that Russia had received a direct refusal to these demands.
It is hardly possible to conclude an agreement on security guarantees today, since Russia and the West do not trust each other, Dmitry Solonnikov believes.
— We are waiting for a change in Europe's position so that it can be trusted within the framework of signing agreements. So far, the situation remains ambiguous," the expert added.
Recently, the European Union has been actively discussing the candidacy of a possible negotiator with Russia. At the same time, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 24 that EU representatives had indeed contacted the Russian Federation.
— President [of France Emmanuel] Macron publicly chastised [the president of the European Council] Antonio Costa for the fact that his employee contacted representatives in Moscow twice, and said that this was unacceptable, that we all need to get together and decide," he said.
French President Emmanuel Macron and President of the European Council Antonio Costa
Representatives of France and Great Britain also came to Moscow. According to Evgeny Semibratov, deputy director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts at the RUDN University, they need the Europeans' statements about their readiness for contacts with Moscow primarily to publicly demonstrate their openness to negotiations. In practice, the expert believes, they do not expect such a dialogue to be successful and, if it fails, they will try to blame Russia.
The Europeans have no intention of abandoning military pressure on Russia. The EU has approved a loan to Ukraine for €90 billion: half of the amount is planned to be allocated in 2026, the other half in 2027. In addition, the EU countries are increasing their military support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is being converted into strikes against civilian infrastructure in Russia.
Ukraine intensifies attacks on Russian regions
In recent weeks, Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russia. One of the latest attacks was a raid on Moscow on June 18, when the Moscow Refinery was damaged.
The sale of gasoline has been temporarily suspended in Crimea, and there are power outages. In recent months, Ukraine has changed tactics and is increasingly using its military capabilities to attack civilian targets, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told Izvestia.
— They really focused their efforts on attacks on civilian targets, on the civilian population. And we have noted a fairly serious increase in the number of injured civilians over the past three weeks, which are associated with massive attacks by the Ukrainian side specifically on civilians," he said.
According to the diplomat, Kiev is striving to achieve, first of all, the psychological and informational effect of attacks on fuel and energy facilities. At the same time, Ukraine will not be able to create a full-fledged energy crisis in Russia.
Evgeny Semibratov believes that attacks on refineries may not be the ultimate goal, but part of a broader line of pressure on Russia. According to him, anti-Russian resources are already discussing that after oil refineries, power plants and thermal power plants may become the next targets.
Moscow stresses that such strikes will lead to nothing. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine's attacks on Russian infrastructure are aimed at destabilizing society and undermining confidence in the Russian Armed Forces. Such attacks do not create conditions for negotiations, but, on the contrary, increase distrust of Kiev and its Western partners.
In Brussels, Kiev's actions are regarded solely as an element of a strategy to contain Russia. For this reason, any discussions about a potential resumption of contacts with Moscow still do not go beyond hypothetical reasoning. In order to move on to real negotiations, Western countries need to completely stop trying to use force. Instead, it will be necessary to start a full-fledged discussion of a system of indivisible and equal security, which will be based not only on the requests of the European Union, NATO and Ukraine, but also on the legitimate demands of Russia itself.
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