Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Russia had never opposed Ukraine's potential membership in the European Union and rejected allegations that it had ever planned to attack Europe, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Putin told Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico during a bilateral meeting in China that Western countries and NATO were seeking to integrate the entire post-Soviet space. According to him, Russia has no other goals than to protect its own interests.
The Russian leader noted that Russia's security should not be threatened by a possible peace agreement with Ukraine, which insists on guarantees against future attacks from Moscow, reports Agence France-Presse.
“Ukraine itself must decide how to guarantee its security“, Putin said, adding: “However, its security cannot be guaranteed at the expense of the security of other countries, including Russia“.