Consensus on Ukraine security can be achieved – Putin
Global powers can reach a consensus on providing security guarantees to Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said. He noted that the issue was discussed during his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska last month.
Speaking during bilateral talks with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing on Tuesday, Putin contrasted Trump’s willingness to hear Russian concerns to that of the previous US administration, saying the change was appreciated.
Trump hosted Putin at a military base in Anchorage on August 15 for their first in-person talks since he returned to the presidency.
“The new administration hears us,” Putin said, referring to Russian concerns about NATO expansion in Europe and its connection with the Ukraine conflict. “We said it during contacts with [President Joe Biden], but nobody was willing to hear us in his administration. Now we see signs of growing mutual understanding.”
Putin dismissed as “absolute rubbish” allegations by some European countries that Russia is gearing up for an attack on NATO states. Ukraine’s backers claim that supplying weapons and money to Kiev is forestalling this scenario, and insist that any resolution of the conflict with Russia should include robust security guarantees for Ukraine in the form of long-term military support or an equivalent of NATO membership.
The Russian leader stressed that Moscow views Ukraine’s proposed accession to NATO as an unacceptable national security threat.
“Ukraine can decide how to ensure its security. But this security… cannot be ensured at the expense of the security of other nations, including Russia’s,” Putin stressed.
“Variants exist for providing Ukrainian security, should the conflict be resolved. This issue was under discussion in Anchorage, and I believe there is an opportunity for consensus.”
Fico, who last year survived an assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine activist over his opposition to arming Kiev, is a vocal critic of the Western approach to the Ukraine conflict. He told Putin he believed the EU resembled a toad sitting at the bottom of a well, unable to see the bigger picture and making bad policy choices because of it.
Putin said that unlike Slovakia, Russia was not part of the EU or NATO, so he chooses less expressive terms to explain Moscow’s grievances. He reiterated that Moscow has no objections to Ukraine joining the EU, should member states approve this.
