Putin is not against Ukraine joining EU
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will not oppose Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
He stated this on Friday during a speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to "European Truth".
"We have nothing against it, it's not a military bloc. And we have never been against it. We were against the military development of the territory of Ukraine. And we had nothing against economic integration," the Russian president said.
He added that whether accession to the EU would be in Ukraine's favor is "a question of the Ukrainians and the Ukrainian government at the moment.
"The structure of the Ukrainian economy is such that if it joins the EU, it will require a lot of subsidies and will turn into a semi-colony," Putin said.
As previously reported, Russian officials have previously opposed Ukraine's accession to the EU, arguing that it has turned into a "military bloc."
