In an interview with a Moscow TV channel, President Vladimir Putin stated yesterday that he did not rule out a drive to have Ukraine join NATO, as dangerous as that would be. He noted that many Russian commentators were dismissive of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s efforts to join NATO: “They say this is idle talk, this will not happen. But I have a different opinion ... There are formal limitations, but there are no guarantees that Ukraine will not become a NATO member state,” Putin said. “We must keep this in mind, and we must appropriately structure our security relations with our partners and close neighbors and with those who control foreign policy from the outside,” he added.
Putin also took note that a majority of Ukrainians are opposed to NATO membership, which reflects a certain realism and unwillingness to place themselves in the crosshairs of a potential conflict. “According to the latest data released, at least 50 percent of Ukraine’s residents do not want their country to join NATO, and these are smart people. I do not say this ironically, I do not want to say others are silly. But those who do not want it understand that they do not want to find themselves on the firing line, they do not want to become political currency or food for powder,” the president stated.
Putin also used the interview to mock the recent Ukrainian legislation which calls Russians a “non-indigenous people” of Ukraine. “It is an obvious fact that the people who joined the Russian state with these territories were calling themselves Russians. Therefore, to speak about Russians as a non-indigenous people is not simply incorrect, but funny and stupid,” Putin said. “This does not correspond to history at all.” Putin noted he couldn’t fully explain all the history involved in a short TV interview. “Maybe I should prepare a dedicated article, as I did in regards to the beginning of World War II. I will think about it,” he added.