Putin closes the door to NATO
Vladimir Putin does not want any part of Ukraine to fall under NATO control, an expert has said.
Last week, Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated he was willing to cede territories already captured by Russia to Moscow, but he is seeking NATO guarantees for the rest of the country.
"After all, [Nato] is, for him, an abhorrence. Putin doesn’t want a pause anyway – he believes he’s on the brink of an historic and strategic victory, kindly deal-sealed by Donald Trump," James Nixey of the Chatham House think-tank told The Independent.
The analyst added that the Russian president is not aiming to invade other nations but is instead focused on maintaining control.
"Putin wants control, not territory. That’s why he hasn’t invaded Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan etc. He controls them ‘enough’ and they have not been so wayward. So Ukraine – any part of it – in Nato as part of a deal would be unacceptable," he explained.
(QG - The Independent / Picture: © Unsplash)