Former president Dmitry Medvedev, now vice-chairman of Russia’s Security Council, also said in an interview on French television that Russia is ready to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky under certain conditions. Even before the February invasion, Moscow made it clear that Ukraine’s NATO membership was unacceptable to it. “Abandoning its membership in the North Atlantic alliance is now vital, but it is already insufficient to consolidate peace,” Medvedev told LCI television in excerpts carried by Russian news agencies. Russia, he said, would continue the campaign until its goals were achieved. Putin says he wants to “de-tax” Ukraine. Kyiv and the West say this is a flimsy pretext for a war of conquest. Russia and Ukraine have held several rounds of talks since the invasion began, but no progress has been made and there is little prospect of a resumption. “These (talks) will depend on how events develop. We were ready before we met (Zelensky),” Medvedev said. In his comments, he also said that US weapons already delivered to Ukraine – such as the HIMARS multiple rocket launchers – do not yet pose a significant threat. But that could change, he said, if the weapons sent by the U.S. could hit targets at longer ranges. “It means that when these kinds of missiles fly 70 kilometers, that’s one thing,” he said. “But when it’s 300-400 kilometers, that’s another, now that would be a threat directly to the territory of the Russian Federation.” (Reporting by Ronald Popeski Editing by David Ljunggren and Alistair Bell)
