Less than 24 hours after EU leaders agreed to begin membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova, Russia hit back at Brussels a thinly-veiled threat.
Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s spokesman, branded the step taken to bring closer the two territories formerly part of the USSR an “absolutely politicised decision”.
He claimed: “Negotiations to join the EU can last for years or decades. The EU has always had strict criteria for accession and it is obvious that at the moment neither Ukraine nor Moldova meets these criteria.
“It is clear that this is an absolutely politicised decision, the EU’s desire to demonstrate support for these countries. But such new members could destabilise the EU.”
The plans to begin talks for Ukraine to potentially join the bloc were announced during an EU summit on December 14. It marked a huge win for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has been pushing for the move since war broke out with Russia.
READ MORE: Putin hit by humiliating blow as elite team struck by ‘heavy losses’, MoD claims
Indeed, Ukraine had started seeking closer ties with the West and the EU years before the full-scale invasion began in February 2022 – a desire that regularly attracted warnings from Russia.
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