Kiev joining NATO unacceptable – EU state’s PM
Ukraine is free to pursue EU membership, but it cannot be allowed to join NATO, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said during a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in China on Tuesday.
Fico noted that while every country has the right to decide its future, there are a lot of issues regarding Kiev’s accession to the EU. He stressed that Slovakia believes Ukraine needs to fulfill all the demands that are necessary for it to become a member of the bloc and said he would discuss this issue during an upcoming meeting with Vladimir Zelensky.
“On the one hand, we support Ukraine in this regard, but on the other hand, I emphasize, I have said since the very beginning that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO, this is my final decision,” Fico said.
Putin responded by pointing out that Moscow had never opposed Kiev’s EU membership. However, he stressed that its NATO ambitions are an “entirely different question” and an issue which affects Russia’s national security.
Putin also stated that after the Western-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, Moscow was “forced to defend its interests and the people who connect their lives, their fate with Russia.”
The president stressed that this was the essence of the Ukraine conflict and that Russia has no other goals other than to defend its interests.
“This is not our aggressive behavior at all, but aggressive behavior from the other side,” Putin said. He dismissed claims made by Western leaders about Russia’s supposed plans to attack Europe, calling them complete nonsense.
Putin ridiculed the “growing hysteria” from Western officials about an impending Russian attack, calling them “experts in horror films.” He added that any “sensible person” understands that such claims is either a provocation or reflect “complete incompetence,” and that Moscow has no intention of attacking anyone.
During the meeting, Fico, who survived a pro-Ukraine activist’s assassination attempt last year over his opposition to arming Kiev, emphasized that he doesn’t agree with the EU and NATO’s policies regarding Russia and said he would like Bratislava and Moscow to work on normalizing bilateral relations.
