President of Russia stated that Moscow has the weapons necessary to defend himself and celebrated daily troop advances in Ukraine with less effective and in difficulty
The President of Russia, said on Thursday (19, local date) that the increase in spending With defense it does not represent “a threat,” because, he said, Moscow has the weapons necessary to defend himself. In a meeting with foreign journalists in St. Petersburg, Putin celebrated that his troops advance daily before a Ukrainian army with less effective and difficult. The Russian offensive against Ukraine, coupled with the distance from US President Donald Trump, from his old continent’s allies, drew the attention of European countries to the need to ensure his own security.
Next week, the Western Military Alliance will hold a summit meeting in The Hague to discuss an increase in military spending to 5% of GDP, as the US president asks. Putin does not consider, however, that “NATO rearmament is a threat to the country.” Russia “constantly modernizes its Armed Forces and its defense capacity. We are self -sufficient to ensure our own security,” said the Russian President.
For Putin, a larger NATO investment in defense would create some “specific” challenges for Russia, but he pointed out that this expense would make “no meaning” to some members of the alliance. The president also commented on the possible supply of German Taurus missiles to Ukraine, proposed by the head of government of the largest European economy, Friedrich Merz. According to Putin, the sending of these long -range projectiles “will not affect the course of combat, but will completely ruin” relations with Berlin.
Putin presented his large -scale offensive in Ukraine as part of a broader conflict between Russia and NATO. Among his conditions for eventual peace in Ukraine, the Russian leader demands that Kiev give up joining the alliance, and wants to discuss with Trump a new security architecture on the continent. Putin’s intentions shocked by Kiev’s, which requires NATO security guarantees as part of a possible agreement to end more than three years of war.
Possible meeting
Negotiations between the two parts are stagnant despite Trump’s pressure by a ceasefire. Russia rejects the “unconditional truce” that Ukraine and its European allies require, while Kiev rules out the Russian demands to participate in a dialogue. “I am even willing to meet with Zelensky, but only if it is the last step,” said Putin, who re -questioned the legitimacy of the Ukrainian, whose mandate officially expired in May 2024, but could not convene elections due to the masch -imposed martial law.
The Russian President stressed that one should “find a solution that not only end the current conflict, but also to create the necessary conditions to prevent these situations from reproducing in the long run.” Russia currently occupies almost 20% of the Ukrainian territory, and requires Kiev to remove his troops from the four east and southern regions that Moscow says he has attached.
*With information from AFP
