Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow has never opposed Ukraine’s potential membership of the European Union, and that he believes it is possible to find a consensus on ensuring the security of both Russia and Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said after his summit with Mr Putin in Alaska last month that he thought the Russian leader was “tired” of the war in Ukraine but that it remained to be seen if peace could be secured to end the conflict.
Kyiv and the leaders of Western European powers have said they do not believe Mr Putin is serious about peace in Ukraine, and have warned that if Russia wins the Ukraine war, Mr Putin could attack Europe and the US-led NATO military alliance.
In some of his most dovish remarks since the Alaska summit, Mr Putin, speaking in China, pushed back against those claims, which he cast as “horror stories” and “hysteria” pumped up by incompetent people seeking to cast Russia as an enemy.
Mr Putin claimed Russia had been forced to act in Ukraine by what he cast as the West’s attempt with the help of NATO to try to absorb the entire post-Soviet space.
“As for Ukraine’s membership of the EU, we have never objected to this,” the Russian president told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at talks in China.
Vladimir Putin made the comments during a meeting with Robert Fico (left) in China. (AP: Vladimir Smirnov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo)
“As for NATO, this is another issue… Our position here is well known: we consider this unacceptable for ourselves.”
A potential security guarantee for Ukraine — backed by the US and Western European powers — is one of the toughest parts of any future peace settlement, according to diplomats and officials involved in discussions.
Ukraine says that it is not for Russia to decide what Kyiv can or cannot join, while NATO says that Russia can have no veto over membership of the alliance which was formed in 1949 to counter the threat from the Soviet Union.
Mr Putin said he had discussed Ukraine’s security at his August 15 summit with Mr Trump.
“There are options for ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event of an end to the conflict,” Mr Putin said.Â
“And it seems to me that there is an opportunity to find consensus here.”
He did not elaborate on what that consensus might entail.
Mr Putin said Russia was ready to cooperate with the US at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
Russia took control of it in March 2022, shortly after its invasion of Ukraine.
“We can cooperate with American partners at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” Mr Putin said, adding that the issue had been discussed indirectly with Washington and that he was even prepared to work with Ukraine at the plant.
The fate of the plant has been a central concern of the Ukraine war due to fears of a nuclear accident.
Trump administration ‘listening to us’: Putin
On Tuesday the Russian president also claimed that Moscow and Washington had come to a “mutual understanding” about the war, saying the Trump administration was “listening to” the Kremlin’s justifications for its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Xi and Putin meet in Beijing ahead of massive military parade
“Now we see this mutual understanding, it’s noticeable … we are very happy about this and hope this constructive dialogue will continue,” Mr Putin said.
However, the US president has expressed frustration at Mr Putin’s lack of engagement in US-led peace efforts and threatened unspecified “severe consequences”.
Mr Putin’s comments came during his visit to the Chinese city of Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who are also facing pressure from Mr Trump.
After the summit, the Russian leader held talks with Mr Xi in Beijing, and on Wednesday he was to attend a massive military parade there commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
Reuters/AP