Russia doesn't oppose Ukraine joining EU, says Putin

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Moscow had never opposed Ukraine's potential membership of the European Union, and that he thought it was possible to find a consensus on ensuring the security of both Russia and Ukraine. US President Donald Trump said after his summit with Putin in Alaska last month that he thinks Putin is 'tired' of the war in Ukraine but that it remains to be seen if peace can be secured to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two. Ukraine and the leaders of Western European powers have said they do not believe Putin is serious about peace in Ukraine, and have warned that if Russia wins the Ukraine war then Putin could attack Europe and the US-led Nato military alliance.
In some of his most dovish remarks since the Alaska summit, 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. Putin said 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,' Putin told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico at talks in China. '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 United States 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.
Putin said that he had discussed Ukraine's security at his August 15 summit with Trump. 'There are options for ensuring Ukraine's security in the event of an end to the conflict,' Putin said. 'And it seems to me that there is an opportunity to find consensus here.'
Russia, Putin said, was ready to cooperate with the United States at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest nuclear plant. 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,' 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.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Tuesday that he would suggest Geneva as a venue for Ukraine-Russia ceasefire talks at a Thursday meeting of some 30 countries to discuss post-war guarantees for Ukraine. 'Geneva would be a suitable venue for a ceasefire agreement,' Merz said at a news conference alongside Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter. 'The day after tomorrow, I will once again propose to the so-called 'coalition of the willing' that an invitation (to Geneva) be extended,' he said.
The 'coalition of the willing' put together by France and Britain has held talks for months to try to define plans for what countries could contribute militarily for Ukraine to deter Russia from attacking it again once there is a final truce. France will host a mostly virtual meeting on Thursday to discuss the latest efforts to provide Ukraine with security support once there is a peace agreement and to denounce what Ukraine's allies see as Moscow's unwillingness to negotiate.
Meanwhile, Serbia hopes for an improvement in cooperation with Russia and has no plans to join Western sanctions against Moscow, President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday. Both Vucic and Russian President Vladimir Putin were taking part in a regional security summit in Beijing with which China hopes to counter Western influence in global affairs. 'Cooperation at the highest level with Russia is very important for Serbia, especially in the fields of energy and Russian gas supplies,' Vucic said at the televised beginning of his meeting with Putin.
Serbia wants to join the European Union, but Russia, a traditional Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally, remains its biggest gas supplier. Pro-Russian sentiments also run high in the Balkan country. Russia's Gazprom and Gazpromneft own Serbia's NIS oil company, which operates Serbia's only oil refinery. 'Gas purchases are very important for us,' Vucic told Putin. — Reuters