Sanctions against Russia will be lifted by the end of this year, and Ukraine will never become a NATO member - Zeman
The President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, believes that European Union sanctions against Russia will be lifted by the end of this year.
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He stated this in an interview with Kommersant FM.
“I hope that the situation in the East of Ukraine, where there is now practically no civil war, although there are some local incidents, is satisfactory. And I would even add that sanctions can be completely eliminated, perhaps by the end of this year. The Council of Europe will discuss this in mid-June or July, I don’t know exactly. Well, we’ll wait and see,” Zeman noted.
In addition, he noted that he stands for the neutrality of Ukraine and added that many representatives of other European countries speak out for this.
“As for Ukraine, two steps need to be taken. First, you want to be a member of NATO when you join this elite club, and second, the other members of that club must unanimously agree. And this will not happen. Not only Steinmeier, but also Francois Hollande said that he was against it. This means that if the members are against it, then you cannot join this club called NATO,” added the Czech President.
He also did not rule out that Russia will become a member of the EU within 20 years.
“This is quite likely, these are complementary economies. Russia requires modern technologies, the European Union needs energy resources. And it complements each other,” Zeman said.
Sanctions against Russia will be lifted by the end of this year, and Ukraine will never become a NATO member – Zeman