The Kremlin said on ​Tuesday that there could be no security guarantees ‌for Ukraine without Russia’s involvement, responding to a statement by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz that Moscow should play no part in shaping ​such arrangements.

Merz said on Monday that the issue — ​central to attempts to end the 4-1/2 year war — should ⁠be decided by Ukraine and its partners, not by ​Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comment illustrated the “dead-end position” ​taken by European governments over the conflict.

“It is impossible to formulate security guarantees without Russia’s participation; if the Europeans are truly convinced of ​this stance and insist upon it, this completely rules ​out the possibility of European countries participating in the settlement process,” Peskov ‌told ⁠reporters.

Ukraine says it needs guarantees from the West to protect it against future attack by Moscow, whose forces currently control around a fifth of its territory.

In response to a ​separate question, ​Peskov described the ⁠imposition of EU sanctions against tech firm VK on Monday, the company behind Russia’s MAX ​messaging app, as “utterly absurd”.

Critics accuse the Russian authorities ​of ⁠using the app as a surveillance tool, which the Kremlin denies. Peskov said the EU sanctions would not prevent it ⁠from ​growing rapidly and successfully.

The EU said ​that by developing MAX, VK was providing “technical support for the repression of civil ​society and democratic opposition”.