Speaking at a press conference Friday, Oct. 18, to BRICS nations media representatives ahead of the Oct. 22-24 BRICS summit, host Russian President Vladimir Putin replied to a question about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy’s Oct. 17 comment that Ukraine will either get NATO membership or develop its own nuclear weapons. This was his response:
“This is yet another act of provocation. In the modern world, creating nuclear weapons is not a difficult task. I do not know whether Ukraine is capable of doing this now though. It is not easy for Ukraine today, but generally there are no big difficulties in this regard, with everyone knowing how it is done.
“This is a dangerous act of provocation, because, obviously, any step in this direction will meet an adequate response. This is the second point.
