Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday (21) that he had called a meeting of the Security and National Defense Council after statements by the Russian Security Council.
Russia’s security council, chaired by President Vladimir Putin, has supported recognition of Ukraine’s breakaway regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Putin said he would make a final decision later on Monday.
Zelenskiy also said he held urgent talks with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. On Monday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on the Russian president to “not play with human lives” in Ukraine.
Putin told the security council meeting that it was necessary to consider an appeal from the leaders of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine for Russia to recognize them as independent.
According to the president, “Russia has tried to resolve the situation in a peaceful way”, but it was “clear that the Minsk Protocol will not be applied”, citing the agreement that sealed the ceasefire after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. .
Ukraine in NATO
Furthermore, Putin said the threat to Russia would increase substantially if Ukraine followed through on plans to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The president raised reservations about a clause in the NATO admissions treaty that states that countries participating in the organization must always support each other militarily, which would be a problem for Russia if Ukraine generates any conflict in the region.
Putin also said that claims that Ukraine was not ready to join NATO were not a concession to Russia, but a fulfillment of Western plans.
Furthermore, the Russian president stated that Emmanuel Macron said that the US had “changed its stance”, but the French president would not have responded what those changes were. The conversation Putin had with the Frenchman on Sunday (20) would also have generated confirmation from Macron that Ukraine was ready to accept a peace agreement.
Source: CNN Brasil
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