Britain and France have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of stalling peace talks in Ukraine and have urged him to respond immediately to the United States, the Associated Press reported.
Russia effectively rejected Washington's offer for a full and immediate 30-day ceasefire after a Kremlin official said Monday that Moscow views efforts to end the war in Ukraine as a "protracted process".
"In our assessment, Putin continues to puzzle, continues to procrastinate," British Foreign Secretary David Lamy told his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Lami noted that instead of agreeing to the ceasefire proposal, the Russian leader "continues to bomb Ukraine, its civilian population, its energy infrastructure. "We see you, Vladimir Putin, we know what you're doing," the British Foreign Secretary said.
Barrot, for his part, said that Ukraine had agreed to the terms of the ceasefire three weeks ago and that Russia now "owes the United States a response." US President Donald Trump expressed disappointment with his Russian counterpart and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after promising to quickly end the war.
According to the French Foreign Minister, Russia has shown no intention of stopping its military campaign. Barrot recalled that on Monday Putin signed a decree to call up 160,000 conscripts into the army.
Lami and Barrot pledged to continue helping to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces.
Great Britain and France are the initiators of the idea of forming a multinational force to monitor the observance of future peace in Ukraine. The heads of the armies that are ready to join the initiative, known as the "coalition of the willing", are expected to meet in Kiev today. NATO defense ministers will meet next Thursday at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.