Putin: “Ukraine will lose its status as a country if it continues to do what it does”
The Russian president, who has sharpened his rhetoric towards his enemies, said that Kyiv “endangers the future of the country, and if that happens – it will have to blame only itself”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday that Ukraine could lose its status as a country, “if it continues to do what it does.” This was reported in the New York Times.
Putin, Zlansky (Photo: Shutterstock)
“The current leadership needs to understand that if they continue to do what they do, they are endangering the future of the Ukrainian state,” Putin said during a meeting in Moscow. “If that happens, they’ll just have to blame themselves.”
During his meeting, Putin also described the sanctions imposed by Western countries on Russia as a “declaration of war,” according to the Times, which shows an escalation in rhetoric on the part of Moscow in the wake of its troops’ invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalansky signed a petition to join the European Union. “Our goal is to be together with all Europeans, and most importantly – to be equal,” the president said during a speech. “I’m sure it’s fair. I’m sure it’s possible.”
Zalansky also asked to join the NATO alliance – which actually sparked the war with Russia – but German Chancellor Olaf Schultz said this was not on the agenda.
“I have made it clear, also to Moscow, that this option is not on the table, and it will not exist,” the German chancellor said. He noted that he shared the security concerns of Russian President Vladimir Putin: “The Russians were concerned about the issue of controlling their security. Putin was concerned that NATO has a military array and rockets in Ukraine, aimed at Russian territory. That is why we wanted to make it clear that this would not happen. “
Earlier yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Moscow and met with Putin to discuss the war with Ukraine. Afterwards, according to officials, Bennett spoke with Zalansky. At the end of the conversation, Zlansky tweeted that Bennett had called him, and that “we are continuing the dialogue.”
Prime Minister of Israel @naftalibennett called me after his meeting with Vladimir Putin. We continue dialogue.
– Volodymyr Zelenskyy (@ZelenskyyUa) March 5, 2022
Israeli sources said the two discussed for three hours in the Kremlin, and at the end of the meeting Bennett traveled to Berlin to talk with the German Chancellor, with the Israeli prime minister coordinating efforts to find a solution to the crisis with the United States and France as well. After that, Bennett returned to Israel. It should be noted that the prime minister is the first Western leader to meet with Putin since the outbreak of the war.
Not many details were given about the meeting. A senior Israeli official said that during the conversation, Bennett raised with Putin the issue of the large Jewish community in Ukraine being involved in the war. He also discusses with him the talks between the world powers – including Russia – regarding the revival of the nuclear agreement with Iran.
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