Russian strong man, Vladimir Putin, has stated that Moscow was not opposed to Ukraine’s potential membership of the European Union (EU). However, he insisted that he remained in his already known stance that Kyiv joining North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), was an unacceptable prospect for Moscow.
Putin’s comments came as the US President, Donald Trump contends with frustration over Moscow’s lack of engagement in the US-led peace efforts.
Trump said after his summit with Mr Putin in Alaska last month that he thought the Russian leader was “tired” of the war in Ukraine but noted that it remained to be seen if peace could be secured to end the conflict.
Kyiv and the leaders of Western European powers had said they did not believe Putin was serious about peace in Ukraine, and have warned that if Russia won the Ukraine war, Putin could attack Europe and the US-led NATO military alliance.
In some of his most dovish remarks at the Shangai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Beijing, China recently, Putin had pushed back against those claims, which he cast as “horror stories” and “hysteria” pumped up by incompetent people seeking to cast Russia as an enemy.
He claimed Russia had been forced to act in Ukraine by what he called the West’s attempt with the help of NATO to try to absorb the entire post-Soviet space.
Putin said, “As for Ukraine’s membership of the EU, we have never objected to this,” the Russian president told Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, at talks in China.
“As for NATO, this is another issue… Our position here is well known: we consider this unacceptable for ourselves.”
A potential security guarantee for Ukraine backed by the US and Western European powers is one of the toughest parts of any future peace settlement, according to diplomats and officials involved in discussions.
Ukraine said that it is not for Russia to decide what Kyiv can or cannot join, while NATO said that Russia can have no veto over membership of the alliance which was formed in 1949 to counter the threat from the Soviet Union.
The Russian strong man also revealed that he had discussed Ukraine’s security at his August 15 summit with Mr Trump, adding that, “There are options for ensuring Ukraine’s security in the event of an end to the conflict. And it seems to me that there is an opportunity to find consensus here.”
Putin said Russia was ready to cooperate with the US at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
Russia took control of it in March 2022, shortly after its invasion of Ukraine.
“We can cooperate with American partners at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” Putin said, adding that the issue had been discussed indirectly with Washington and that he was even prepared to work with Ukraine at the plant.
In the meantime, Russia said it has ruled out any talks that would consider the deployment of foreign troops in Ukraine.
Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 that Moscow would not discuss the idea of an international post-conflict security force in any format.
She warned European leaders working on plans for a multinational force to take note of Moscow’s position.
She said, “Russia is not going to discuss the fundamentally unacceptable and security-undermining foreign intervention in Ukraine in any form, in any format.
“The next time they aim to discuss this topic, they should have a pointer in the form of Russia’s position. Judging by Ukraine’s losses, the European Commission has simply outdone itself,” Zakharova said at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
Her remarks came after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the Financial Times that the European Union had “pretty precise plans” for deploying a multinational force to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders are expected to meet in Paris to discuss post-conflict security guarantees.
French President Emmanuel Macron, said the details had been worked out but remained extremely confidential.
“We are ready, we the Europeans, to offer the security guarantees to Ukraine and Ukrainians the day that a peace [accord] is signed,” Macron stated.
The United States President, Trump, who has pledged to bring the conflict to a quick end, is scheduled to speak with Zelenskyy and later with President Vladimir Putin.
