MOSCOW, February 16. /TASS/. Western countries have succeeded in making Ukraine a European state in terms of Nazism, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS.
Earlier, at the Munich Security Conference, Finnish President Alexander Stubb said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had wanted to make Ukraine Russian, but now it has become European.
"I don't know what Stubb means by the word European. If they assume that Europe is synonymous with Nazism, which has repeatedly manifested itself there, then perhaps they have succeeded in making Ukraine European - Nazi, judging by Zelensky's statements. Russia has never had any aspirations to disrespect Ukraine's sovereignty. We have always treated Ukraine as a sovereign, independent state," the diplomat said, commenting on Stubb's words.
Zakharova pointed out that Russia has always proceeded under the assumption that it is fostering friendly interstate relations with Ukraine that are "particularly close yet sovereign." "We established diplomatic relations immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union and exchanged embassies. Special figures were always appointed as ambassadors to promote strong bilateral relations. We signed all kinds of intergovernmental agreements, including those concerning the navy. Although we were close neighbors and had a common economy, we traded on the principle of international economic relations. There were many projects that they now call integration projects, but before, they were joint projects," she recalled.
