EU is being manipulated by US and UK, claims Russia's deputy foreign minister

In a recent statement, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin of Russia, levelled accusations against the European Union (EU), claiming that it has been manipulated by the United States and the United Kingdom (UK) in relation to the ongoing situation in Ukraine. According to Galuzin, the EU has missed an opportunity to assert its independence as a global player in a multipolar world by not allowing Germany, France, and Russia to work together. He further alleged that Washington and its closest allies have long sought to prevent such cooperation among these nations.

“Due to political machinations of the US and Britain, the opportunity for constructive cooperation involving Russia, aimed at creating an independent center of power on the European continent, has been lost for decades,” he said, as per a report from Russia Today. 

Galuzin says US is using Ukraine as a tool

Galuzin, while referring to the events of the 2014 armed coup in Kyiv and the subsequent escalation of tensions between Russia and Ukraine, accused Washington of using Ukraine as a pawn to maintain its global dominance. He described Ukraine as "a tool" that the US is using to pursue world hegemony. Galuzin also pointed to the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines last autumn as evidence of the US and UK not being interested in fostering mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and European states.

EU nations have been "forced to leave behind all pretence at independence and unconditionally comply with the US course", he said. This, according to Galuzin, has resulted in the decline of the EU's "political and economic clout in the world". Speaking at an event focused on Ukraine, organised by the Russian Historical Society, the deputy minister alleged that Western influence in Ukraine has involved manipulating the truth about the country's history. He further asserted that the current Ukrainian authorities are actively dismantling any shared cultural or historical connections between Russia and Ukraine. Despite this, he expressed optimism that historians can play a role in facilitating eventual reconciliation between the two nations.