Russia advocates peace but has the right to ensure its security in the medium to long term, Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
"It’s a provocative question," he said at a news conference following a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, when asked by reporters if Russia was going to invade Ukraine.
"Russia is conducting a peaceful policy but it has the right to ensure its security, as I mentioned, in the medium and longer term," he went on to say. "we are discussing it with our partners, all of our partners, including the person I spoke with yesterday, the President of the United States of America, Mr. Biden."
Putin and Joe Biden held a video call that lasted two hours on December 7. The talks focused on the situation around Ukraine.
"We are concerned over the prospects of Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO, as it will definitely result in the deployment of military contingents, bases and weapons posing a threat to us," Putin said.
According to him, Russia proceeds from the fact that its concerns "will be heard at least this time," although over the previous decades, despite the statements of the Russian side, NATO’s infrastructure has been approaching the country’s borders. "Now we witness the missile defense systems in Poland and Romania," the president recalled.
"We have every reason to believe that the same will happen if Ukraine joins NATO, but on the Ukrainian soil. How can we not think about it, it would be a criminal omission from our side: witnessing impotently what happens," Putin stressed.
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