ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that Kyiv’s EU membership pursuit is its “legitimate choice” shows Moscow had accepted reality “with such a delay,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday.

“Finally, we are hearing signals from Russia that they are already accepting Ukraine’s membership in the European Union. It is a pity that they are accepting reality with such a delay,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa, according to Ukrainian media.

He added: “Since 2013, Russia has been moving towards such a simple idea. But now some other great friends of Russia in Europe need to hear this. Even if Putin does not object, the positions of some countries, especially Hungary, regarding clusters of negotiations look really strange.”

On Tuesday, Putin said during talks with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in Beijing that Russia does not oppose Ukraine’s EU membership but continues to reject its NATO accession.

He stressed that Moscow’s position on the two organizations remains different, while reiterating Russia’s opposition to what he called the Western-backed coup in Kyiv in 2014.