Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that his country is concerned that the European Union could turn from an economic to a military union, and this is the basis of concerns against Ukraine's accession to the European Union. His comment came during a joint statement during the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Moscow, which was broadcast live on the profiles of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, BTA reports.
„The Ukrainian issue began when the people of Crimea voted in a referendum to join Russia. Since then, the Ukrainian issue has been constantly on the table in our talks with the European Union. Back then, President Putin always said that Russia was against Ukraine joining NATO because the European Union is an economic organization and is concerned with increasing the welfare of its citizens, but since then the European Union has changed a lot,” Lavrov said in response to a question about how he views the acceleration of the Western Balkans’ accession process and the intentions to prepare agreements with Moldova and Ukraine. “You know, there have been several different movements in the European Union since Trump withdrew from NATO. There are countries that want to make the European Union a military one. There is also another trend: we will manage on our own. For example, Great Britain, which is trying to have a separate defense union and wants to establish it from the most belligerent countries against Russia and intends to join Ukraine.”
He emphasized that all this is currently the subject of talks and discussions.
“Behind all this is a single truth – The European Union is creating its entire security system with the idea that it is against Russia. Thus, our national interests are affected. Of course, if Ukraine joins the European Union, those who want the European Union to turn into a military one will do so. If we talk about the internal problems of the European Union, Ukraine's entry will not be bad. Then it may even fall apart from within“, Lavrov also noted.
He warned that if the European Union, instead of improving its economy and multilateral economic infrastructure, focuses on turning it into a military union, the consequences will not be good and if they want that, they can invite Zelensky.
Hakan Fidan, for his part, spoke about shipping safety. He expressed his desire to return to the negotiating table between Russia and Ukraine and emphasized that Turkey is working hard to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza. According to him, Israel's actions could only be hindered by diplomacy that defines specific actions as right and wrong, rather than relying on support or blame for past actions by other countries.