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Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed on Thursday that outgoing US President Joe Biden is proposing to postpone Ukraine’s NATO membership to 2021.
“I know the current President Biden has talked about this, it’s no secret, back in 2021. “Delay it by 10 to 15 years,” Putin said. Reporters attending a press conference in St. Petersburg.
Putin expressed agreement with Biden’s assessment that Ukraine is not ready, saying, “But you will be ready and accept it.”
“From a historical perspective… it’s a moment. What difference does it make to us today, tomorrow or 10 years from now?” he added.
He went on to say that he was not familiar with the Trump campaign’s statements on this point, and then questioned whether there was any difference between the Biden administration’s and the Trump campaign’s reported proposals.
“We don’t know how this situation will develop going forward and what the instructions from the elected president to his colleagues will be. We’ll see,” he said.
Russia has cited NATO’s expansion into its borders as the main reason for launching a “special military operation” in Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
President Trump, who takes office next month, has questioned U.S. aid to Ukraine and vowed to quickly end the conflict.
Slovakia mediation
Putin also commented late Sunday on his recent meeting with Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico, saying the prime minister had expressed his readiness to provide a forum for negotiations between Russia and Kiev.
“If that’s the case, why not? Because Slovakia has a neutral position, from our point of view. This is an acceptable option for us,” he said.
President Putin has expressed that Russia is always in favor of supplying natural gas to Europe, saying he is also in favor of “depoliticizing economic issues” and that he is prepared to supply gas via neighboring Poland. suggested something.
The Russian president also reminded Ukraine of Ukraine’s decision not to extend the contract between Moscow and Kiev for gas transit to Europe, which expires on January 1.
“As already mentioned, they (Ukraine) are being poked by Europe, because without European support Ukraine cannot even exist, let alone fight. But now they are using transit contracts for supplies. “We are punishing the same Europe by shutting down “we are sending gas to Europe,” he continued.
He also stated that it would be impossible to renew the contract before the new year, saying it was “impossible to conclude the contract in three or four days.”
Oleshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile system
President Putin said that Russia still has the new Oleshnik medium-range ballistic missile system, even though it does not yet have many of these systems, and that it has several similar systems. said.
“These weapons are powerful and designed to solve specific problems, so we are in no hurry to use them. We have started serial production. We will produce the quantities and what we need, and we will place something on the territory of Belarus, ”Putin said.
He further said that Russia always responds “in kind” to attacks on its territory, adding: “They use certain weapons against us, but we also use the same ones. “I’m doing it,” he said.
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