Bangladesh, Nov. 25 -- The diplomatic storm surrounding a leaked US peace proposal has escalated sharply, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accusing European leaders of intentionally undermining Washingtons mediation efforts. The controversy, which erupted after US media outlets and a Ukrainian lawmaker published what they claimed was a 28-point roadmap to end the Ukraine conflict, has laid bare the widening fissures between the United States and its European allies over how – or whether – to negotiate an end to the war.

For Moscow, the leak confirms what it has long suspected: that certain Western governments, particularly in Europe, view any negotiated settlement as a threat to their strategic objectives in Easter...