Russian president says Slovak premier expressed his country's readiness to provide platform for negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday claimed that his outgoing US counterpart Joe Biden proposed postponing Ukraine's NATO accession in 2021.
“I know that the current President Biden spoke about this, it is no secret, back in 2021. He proposed exactly this to me - to delay Ukraine's admission to NATO for 10-15 years, because it is not ready yet,” Putin told reporters in a press briefing in St. Petersburg.
Expressing that he agreed with Biden's assessment about Ukraine not being ready, Putin said: “But you will prepare it and accept it.”
“From the historical point of view … it is one moment. For us, what difference does it make - today, tomorrow or in 10 years,” he added.
He went on to say that, in this regard, he is not familiar with the statements of Trump's team, later questioning there is no difference between the Biden administration and the reported proposals of Trump's team.
“I don't know how this situation will develop further, what the instructions from the elected president to his colleagues will be. We'll see,” he said.
He added that Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico expressed his country's readiness to provide a platform for negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv during talks in Russia late Sunday.
Russia has cited NATO's expansion towards its borders as a key reason to start its "special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Trump, who will take charge next month, has questioned US assistance to Ukraine and has vowed to end the conflict swiftly.
