London and Paris are allegedly plotting to arm Ukraine with a nuclear weapon to ensure its conflict with Russia is not resolved through U.S.-backed peace talks, according to senior Russian diplomat Gennady Gatilov.

In an interview on Friday, Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN Office in Geneva, stated that Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) had accused London and Paris of planning to transfer the necessary components, technology, and equipment required for developing a nuclear weapon or so-called “dirty bomb.”

Gatilov asserted that the plans were specifically timed to undermine ongoing trilateral Russian-U.S.-Ukraine peace negotiations. He argued that Kiev’s Western European backers have been increasingly “angered” by Russia’s advances on the battlefield.

“This period was certainly not chosen by chance… there were truly important trilateral negotiations taking place,” Gatilov said.

The diplomat further noted that the UK, France and Ukraine’s other European sponsors were “essentially sidelined… which is causing them extreme discontent.”

Gatilov added that the alleged plot was an attempt to increase their role in the process, thereby encouraging the Ukrainians and the Ukrainian regime to continue military action.

He cited the failed 2014-2015 Minsk Agreements as a precedent, which were intended to reconcile the post-coup government in Kiev with anti-Maidan forces in Ukraine’s east. Germany and France served as guarantors of the accords. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande later admitted that the agreements had been exploited to stall for time and allow Kiev to rearm.

According to Gatilov, from the early stages of the Ukraine conflict, France and the UK have played an “important role” in transforming Ukraine into what he described as an “anti-Russia project.”

When asked whether the alleged nuclear handover plot would strengthen Ukraine’s position in peace talks, Gatilov responded: “Any attempt to strengthen Ukraine’s position by supplying it with a dirty bomb or any other components will not lead to any results. On the contrary… this will worsen the political situation and complicate the search for a political solution.”