The president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has once again referred to the tensions surrounding the possible incorporation of Ukraine into NATO, as well as Moscow’s proposals to Washington and its allies in the bloc in terms of security. The statements offered this Tuesday at a press conference after meeting with the Prime Minister of Hungary, Víktor Orbán.
During his speech, the president once again recalled the promises made verbally by the Atlantic Alliance in the 1990s that it would not expand “one inch” to the east after the unification of Germany. “They deceived us,” he asserted, alluding to the incorporation of nations such as Poland, Romania and the Baltic countries, among others.
In parallel, Putin mentioned the US unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002, despite calls from Moscow not to do so. This, in turn, allows the installation of the Tomahawk offensive missiles, which poses a threat to Russia, according to the president.
A theater of war between Moscow and NATO?
Regarding a possible accession of Kiev to the Alliance, Putin pointed out that Ukraine’s doctrinal documents state that the country wants to retake the Russian peninsula of Crimea, including by military means. The head of state stressed that if Ukraine, which is being actively militarized by the West lately, joins in and launches an attack in Crimea, Russia would have to face off against NATO.
“Let’s imagine that Ukraine is a member of NATO – it is riddled with weapons with the installation of contemporary offensive systems just like Poland and Romania […] and start a military operation in Crimea. This is sovereign territory of Russia […] Do we have to go to war with the NATO bloc? Has anyone thought about it? Apparently not,” the president said.
Compliance with the Minsk agreements
In addition, Putin mentioned the Minsk agreements, sealed in 2015 to stop the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow is always accused of not complying with the stipulations of the pact, while they assure that Kiev does want to apply them.
“And at the same time there are public statements that if Ukraine implements the Minsk agreements, it will fall apart. Has no one thought that by posing such threats to Russia, it creates similar threats for itself?” he questioned.
Ukraine security or Russian containment?
The president acknowledged that each country has the right to choose its own security system. However, Putin considered that the US is not so concerned about the security of Ukraine and uses it as a “tool” to “contain the development of Russia”.
In this sense, the president mentioned possible ways of how the containment of Moscow would be carried out.
Engage Russia in a military conflict and introduce harsh sanctions, a possibility already contemplated by Washington and its European allies.
Include Ukraine in NATO, deploy offensive weapons systems there and instigate radical Ukrainian groups to resolve the problem of Donbass and Crimea by war, which would involve Russia’s involvement.
Respect everyone’s interests
The Russian president stressed that NATO defends its open-door policy, appealing to the “free choice” of each country on joining the Alliance. However, according to Putin, this policy is not enshrined in any document, while recalling that it is not possible to strengthen the security of certain nations at the expense of others.
At the same time, he suggested the way in which Washington and the members of the Atlantic Alliance could formulate their rejection of Ukraine’s aspirations to form part of the military bloc.
“We want to guarantee their safety. We value it. We respect their aspirations. But we cannot accept it, because we have other prior international commitments. What is incomprehensible or even offensive to Ukraine in this case?” the head of state asked.
Finally, Putin specified that Moscow only advocates avoiding “a negative scenario” of the situation, but for this it is necessary to take into account the interests of all countries, including those of Russia.
