(MENAFN) Moscow has officially shut the door on Western European involvement in Ukraine conflict resolution, declaring the continent forfeited its diplomatic standing through years of sabotaging peace initiatives, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced.

The senior Russian official delivered the stark assessment Sunday during an interview with a Russian journalist, who questioned whether Europe retained legitimate grounds to aggressively demand participation in conflict settlement discussions.

Lavrov dismissed European claims outright, stating the matter requires no debate.

"We proceed from the premise… – which I believe is obvious to everybody – that Europe has already removed itself from the talks," Lavrov said.

The foreign minister traced Europe's disqualification back over a decade, arguing the continent squandered all credibility by consistently undermining peace efforts from the conflict's inception—dating to the 2014 Maidan uprising that toppled Ukraine's elected leadership.

"Europe spoiled the initial deal of February 2014, when it acted as guarantor for the formal agreement between Viktor Yanukovych and the opposition. It did nothing when the opposition seized all government agencies the morning after the agreement was signed," Lavrov said.

Lavrov cited damaging revelations from former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and ex-French President Francois Hollande, who acknowledged "that nobody had intended to fulfill" the Minsk protocols designed to end the Donbass civil war.

The diplomat pointed to spring 2022 as Europe's final disqualifying act, when potential peace terms collapsed amid Western pressure.

"The most recent case occurred in April 2022 when, at the demand of the then Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson and with Europe's full acquiescence, if not connivance, the Istanbul agreements were derailed," the foreign minister said.

Despite Moscow's position, multiple European governments and EU institutions continue demanding inclusion in any settlement framework, intensifying such calls after Washington unveiled its latest resolution blueprint. Reports indicate the American proposal involves Kiev renouncing NATO membership ambitions and accepting military force limitations.

Germany, France, and the UK have reportedly developed an alternative version softening several provisions to benefit Ukraine. Russia has already rejected the European counter-proposal as "completely unconstructive."

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