“Nyet” means “nyet” means “get lost”

A short note on Russia’s message for the EU (and Britain) at Maria Zakharova’s 27 February Press Briefing

Maria Zakharova, extremely eloquent as well as refreshingly outspoken spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry and an important figure in her own right in Moscow’s diplomacy, is well-known for calling a spade a spade.

Her regular press briefings cover any number of international events and Russian foreign policy activities. As such their content has to range from the occasionally sensational to routine matters. Notwithstanding the latter, the briefings – published on the Foreign Ministry website – are always worth listening to carefully. Even if, on any given day, you may not need the details on, for instance, the 35^th anniversary of the establishment of relationships between Russia and the Vatican, there will always be something that will make you prick up your ears as well.

That rule also applied to the briefing of 27 February 2025, too. On that day, the arguably most interesting moments turned on the war in Ukraine and in particular the role of the NATO-EU Europeans in desperately trying to keep it going, while even the usually supremely belligerent US is at least trying – if with persistence, honesty, and success remains very much to be seen – to find a way to peace.