Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Europe wants to continue “war” in Ukraine as US and EU officials met in Paris for talks on the conflict.

“Unfortunately, we see from Europeans a focus on continuing the war,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Thursday, when asked about what he expected from the talks.

“Of course, we would like to see a shift toward peace-oriented efforts from both Europe and Ukraine,” he said.

Kirill Dmitriev, head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, told reporters, “There are a lot of people, structures, and countries trying to derail our dialogue with the United States,” as the two sides work toward normalizing ties.

Deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, also spoke on the heels of the visit by US, EU and Ukrainian officials to Paris. 

He condemned NATO allies over their plan to send troops to Ukraine as part of a ceasefire deal being negotiated between Washington and Moscow.

“Apparently, the top of Ukraine’s fascist clique have come to Paris for talks with the UK, Germany and France on how many European coffins they will be ready to accept after the deployment of the troops of the ‘coalition of the willing’ in Ukraine,” Medvedev said.

A senior British government source said last month that the West intends to deploy more than 10,000 troops to Ukraine to monitor a possible ceasefire between Moscow and Kiev.

UK Defense Minister John Healey clarified last week that the troops would not function as traditional peacekeepers but would provide direct assistance to Ukraine’s military.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for the German parliament said his country has kept Russia off its guest list for a special sitting on May 8 marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two in Germany.

Following Donald Trump’s election as US president late last year, the US administration has reached out directly to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in an attempt for a ceasefire agreement on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Officials from Russia and the US have met on multiple occasions since then to discuss bilateral issues, including restoring embassy staffing levels after years of diplomatic expulsions. However, Trump’s efforts to end the conflict have been futile.

Moscow has condemned Europe for the prolonged armed conflict, saying the EU and UK are the main obstacles to peace, and that they remain focused on continuing the war.

On Thursday, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, kicked off a day of talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff to advocate for Ukraine and to work on crafting a ceasefire.

The high-level talks reflect Europe’s mounting fears about the US administration’s overtures towards Russia.

The Kremlin described the Paris meetings as a chance for Witkoff, who met Putin for five hours last week, to inform the Europeans of the status of the talks about the search for a peace agreement in Ukraine.