The European Commission rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s threats to Western troops should they be deployed in Ukraine, while welcoming his support for the country’s potential EU accession.
On Tuesday, Putin said that Russia “never objected to” Ukraine’s EU bid. “As for NATO, however, that is a different matter.”
In June, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now a member of Russia’s Security Council, said the bloc posed a security threat to Moscow and Russia was against Ukraine joining the EU.
“It’s very welcome that President Putin sees the place of Ukraine in the European Union,” Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters on Friday.
On Thursday, 26 countries in the “coalition of the willing,” offered security guarantees to Ukraine after a potential ceasefire.
Putin responded on Friday, saying that all Western troops in Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Russia.
“It’s up to Ukraine to decide about the deployment of troops in its territory,” Pinho said.
However, Pinho indicated that the security guarantees would not necessarily mean boots on the ground.
“The contribution of these 26 countries means that they are willing to contribute in some way,” Pinho said – “be it with troops, be it with the reinforcement of the Ukrainian armed forces, [or] making Ukraine stronger.”
(cp, aw)
