Washington previously said it was willing to delay Kiev’s membership in the bloc, according to the Russian president
US President Joe Biden offered to delay Ukraine’s membership in NATO at the organization’s 2021 summit in Geneva, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said.
Putin spoke with reporters on Thursday after a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) in St. Petersburg. Asked about rumors in the US about a proposal that would freeze the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said such talk was nothing new.
“I know that the current President Biden spoke about this, it’s no secret, back in 2021. He proposed exactly this to me – to delay Ukraine’s admission into NATO by 10-15 years, because [Kiev] is not ready yet,” Putin said, referring to the midsummer meeting he had with the US leader in Switzerland.
Kiev’s entry into the US-led military bloc was unacceptable to Moscow “whether it’s in one year or ten years,” the Russian president said. “From the standpoint of history, that’s but a blink of an eye,” he added.
“We, too, are striving to end the conflict,” Putin told the reporters, adding that it should happen by achieving all of Moscow’s military and political objectives.
US President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to negotiate a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine within hours of taking office. While he has declined to discuss any specifics of his proposal, US media have cited several anonymous sources as saying that it could involve “freezing” the conflict along the current front line, something both Moscow and Kiev publicly oppose.
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