Putin says he wants Ukraine NATO question resolved ‘now’
Al JazeeraRussia’s president says Western assurances Kyiv will not join NATO military alliance in the near future are unsatisfactory. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow does not want a war in Europe amid rising tensions over Ukraine but demanded that the issue of Kyiv’s relationship with NATO be resolved in its entirety immediately. Later on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden cast doubt on Moscow’s claims of a partial withdrawal, saying that Russian troops near Ukraine remain in a “threatening position”. “The fact remains right now Russia has more than 150,000 troops is circling Ukraine and Belarus and along Ukraine’s border; an invasion remains distinctly possible,” Biden said. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said “the intelligence that we’re seeing today is still not encouraging”, and Ukraine said the reported pullback needed to be seen to be believed.