Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking in the aftermath of the July 11-12 NATO Summit, reiterated yesterday that Ukrainian membership in NATO is a threat to Russia. In response to the first media question in his remarks yesterday after the plenary session of the Future Technologies Forum, Putin said: “As for Ukraine’s NATO membership, as we have said many times, this obviously creates a threat to Russia’s security. In fact, the threat of Ukraine’s accession to NATO is the reason, or rather one of the reasons for the special military operation.”
Joining NATO will not increase Ukraine’s security, Putin went on to say: “I am certain that this would not enhance Ukraine’s security in any way either. In general, it will make the world much more vulnerable and lead to more tensions in the international arena.”
Speaking about arms deliveries to Kiev, Putin remarked: “As for arms supplies, different arms, we saw how many hopes were pegged on relatively long-range missiles. And so what? Yes, they are doing some damage but they don’t play any critical role in the zone of hostilities. The same is true of foreign tanks and infantry combat vehicles. As of last night—just from July 4—311 tanks were destroyed. Of this number, a big part, I believe at least one-third, were of Western make, including Leopards.”
Putin stressed that Ukraine does have the right to ensure its own security, but not at the expense of its neighbors. “With regard to security, we have said many times that all countries have the right to ensure their own security and to choose the path to get there which it believes is the best for it. There is only one limitation related to the fact that while striving to achieve the security of one country, the security of another country must not be jeopardized. Therefore, we operate on the assumption that this principle, which has been repeatedly expressed in various international documents, will be taken into account. Without a doubt, Ukraine has the right to ensure its security,” Putin said.
Putin further noted that the draft agreement between Moscow and Kiev, which was put together in Istanbul in March 2022, stipulated detailed guarantees of Ukraine’s security, explaining: “By the way, the draft document that I mentioned several times, namely the draft agreement between Russia and Ukraine which was put together in Istanbul and then tossed out by the Ukrainian regime, set out in detail matters related to ensuring Ukraine’s security. We needed more time to see whether we agreed with what it said, but I think that document was acceptable overall.” (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M1aCx_u8dD5hPVq3yugKs0Ml9i8JnRtVjaQZFMtTds8/edit)
