EUvsDisinfo: Russia's peace rhetoric: A smokescreen for aggression
It is no news that Putin refuses to accept any peace other than one that leads to the subjugation of Ukraine. For decades, the Kremlin has combined hollow diplomatic language with manipulative campaigns that portray Moscow as a reasonable player when it is actually acting maliciously towards its sovereign neighbors.
Recent talks in Geneva between American and Ukrainian officials suggest cautious progress in discussing a possible peace agreement. However, doubts have emerged about whether Putin is willing to accept it. As if to underscore this doubt, Russia bombarded Kiev with missiles and drones right after the talks.
Despite its repeated declarations that it is ready for peace, Russia continues to block real diplomacy by bombing Ukrainian cities and waging disinformation campaigns against Ukraine's statehood. With over 200,000 dead on the battlefield, Putin seems unfazed and ready to fight to the penultimate Russian - and he himself will be the last - if it allows him to achieve his ultimate goal: the obliteration of Ukraine.
Russian “diplomatic“ screen
The discrepancy between words and deeds is nothing new: it is a long-standing feature of Russian foreign policy. And it has been evident since the early 1990s, when Russia officially recognized Moldova's sovereignty after the collapse of the Soviet Union, while at the same time secretly supporting separatist forces in the country. The 1992 war in the Moldovan region of Transnistria, heavily influenced by Russian intervention, officially ended with a ceasefire. However, Russia never withdrew. Its troops remain there today, supporting a separatist regime that Moscow does not officially recognize but fully controls.
The same thing happened in Georgia in 2008. Years of support for separatist movements in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, including through the mass issuance of Russian passports, led to a military invasion under the pretext of protecting Russian citizens. After a brokered ceasefire, Russia strengthened its forces in Georgia and quickly recognized the two territories as “independent” – a move widely condemned as a violation of Georgia's sovereignty.
Ukraine: The scenario is clear
The pattern has become even more apparent in Ukraine. In 2014, Russia illegally annexed Crimea and launched a covert military operation in Donbas in violation of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, under which Moscow had pledged to respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for Kiev giving up its nuclear arsenal.
Under pressure from the international community, Russia signed the Minsk I and II agreements in 2014 and 2015, which aimed to de-escalate the conflict in Donbas through a ceasefire and political reforms. But Moscow had no intention of honoring the agreements. It continued to support the separatist forces and systematically violated the ceasefire. And at the same time, it pretended to act as a neutral mediator. And blamed Ukraine for the delay in implementing the ceasefire.
Instead of resolving the conflict, the Minsk process allowed Russia to freeze the war on its own terms and maintain military pressure on Ukraine without taking direct responsibility. The process has also allowed Putin to change the narrative. As he recently stated: “Russia did not start this war – it is just Western propaganda. Russia is doing everything it can to stop the war that began in 2014 against the people of Donbas.“ This version of events ignores the abundant evidence that Russia helped organize the war and that its armed forces have been actively involved from the very beginning.”
Negotiations are theater
We skip ahead to March 2022, when a new round of talks in Istanbul raised new hopes. Russian officials spoke of “constructive dialogue“. But the promise turned out to be empty: Russia's offer to Ukraine included maximalist demands - such as the complete withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from regions partially occupied by Russia and a ban on Ukraine deploying and mobilizing its armed forces there. Meanwhile, Russia has stepped up its bombing of Ukraine and achieved a kind of record in drone attacks under the pretext of hitting “military targets“.
After the Alaska meeting between Putin and US President Donald Trump in August 2025, the same scenario: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia remains committed to resolving the conflict through “political and diplomatic means“. This statement came the day after a large-scale Russian attack on Kiev, which killed twenty-three civilians, including four children, and damaged more than 200 buildings, including the office of the EU delegation.
Geneva talks and Russian lies
The latest talks in Geneva have once again activated the Russian propaganda machine, this time pushing two main messages: that Ukraine is refusing a reasonable peace agreement and that the EU and the UK are deliberately sabotaging the talks and blocking peace efforts. Both narratives accuse Ukraine and its European partners of “fueling the war” rather than working for peace. These narratives are completely blind to the reality of Russian aggression. Pro-Kremlin commentators reinforce these messages by suggesting that Europe intends to escalate the conflict through sanctions, asset seizures and military threats.
Despite the bloodshed it is causing on the battlefield, Moscow continues to speak the language of diplomacy. But in practice and strategically, these negotiations are just theater – buying time, deflecting international pressure and creating the false impression that Russia is acting responsibly. Meanwhile, the war continues to rage. What a just and lasting peace requires For its part, the EU is calling for a just and lasting peace that respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Only such a peace can be truly stable, and not just a prelude to a future war. Europe's position reflects a fundamental belief: diplomacy only makes sense when it upholds international law, not when it legitimizes imperial ambitions.
EUvsDisinfo/ translation: European Commission Representation in Bulgaria