The Kremlin spokesman affirms that Putin “closely follows” the situation regarding the possible future integration of Ukraine into the EU
For Russia, the possible accession of Ukraine to the European Union is of the greatest interest. This has just been recognized by the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, in a meeting with the press within the framework of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Russian President Vladimir Putin “closely follows” the situation regarding the possible future integration of Ukraine into the EU.
“This is still on a different plane, not military, although of course it is something that requires our utmost attention,” Peskov said. In his words, “we all know that discussions have intensified in Europe on strengthening the defense component of the European Union: military, defense and security.”
“Various transformations are taking place which, of course, we are watching very closely,” added the Russian presidential spokesman. Shortly before, the European Commission recommended granting Ukraine the status of a candidate state for EU membership.
For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also present at the St. Petersburg economic forum, said yesterday in an interview with the Russian television channel NTV that “if the EU grants Ukraine a road map in order to prepare for being a member of the organization will mean only one thing, that Europe is once again ready to turn a blind eye to all its established criteria for candidates’. In Lavrov’s view, he further demonstrates that “the EU is guided by exclusively geopolitical considerations.”
The head of the Russian Diplomacy thus responded to the question put to him by the NTV journalist Irada Zeinalova, who posed in a terminologically incorrect way: “Should the European Union grant Ukraine membership?” But before getting into the answer seriously, Lavrov took the opportunity to make a joke saying in a laughing way that “of course, I would give Ukraine integration into the membership. That’s for sure!”, thus apparently playing with the same term used to describe the virile organ.
Already in December, when Russia and the United States unsuccessfully negotiated the “security guarantees” demanded by Putin to de-escalate the crisis, Moscow insisted on its rejection of Ukraine’s integration into NATO, but stressed that it did not matter that it belongs to the Union European. This position has since evolved and, due to the EU’s military aid to kyiv, the Kremlin is now suggesting that it does not look favorably on Ukraine’s accession to the European club.
#Russia #believes #Brussels #lacks #criteria #recommending #Ukraines #candidacy