Putin: Reaching Consensus to Guarantee Ukraine’s Security Is Possible
according to the English section of webangah news Agency, citing Mehr News Agency and Sputnik, russian President Vladimir putin, who is in China attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and the Victory Day parade, stressed that while reaching consensus on Ukraine’s security might potentially be possible, it cannot compromise Moscow’s safety.
During a meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, also present in China, Putin said: “Naturally, decisions on how to guarantee Ukraine’s security belong to Ukraine. Though,as stated in foundational documents including those related to European continental security,one cannot guarantee this security at the expense of other countries’-especially the Russian Federation’s-security.”
He emphasized that Russia’s goal in Ukraine is solely to protect its own interests. “Regarding Russia,” he added, “we have been forced to defend the interests and people whose lives and destinies are intertwined with the Russian Federation and our history and traditions. This defines both this war’s nature and its origins. The cause of this conflict is not our aggressive behavior but hostile actions by the opposing side. We have no objectives beyond safeguarding our interests.”
Putin reiterated what he has previously said several times-and recently again at the Shanghai summit-that western support enabled a coup in Kyiv. Despite Poland, France, and Germany signing an agreement as guarantors between Ukraine’s goverment and opposition in 2014, just days later a coup took place. Those guarantors made no effort to restore political processes according to constitutional norms; instead they supported the coup plotters. The war began there.
The Russian president declared that Ukraine joining NATO is unacceptable.He stated: “The issue of NATO concerns Russian Federation’s security-not only today or short-term but from a long-term outlook-and we consider Ukrainian membership unacceptable.”
