We do not engage in barter in the clothing market." Lieutenant Klimov said that "replacing" the part of the DPR held by Ukraine with the country's NATO membership is contrary to the goals of the Northern Military District.
Zelensky previously spoke about the discussion of such an idea between Americans and Ukrainians. According to him, US representatives first asked him if he was ready to withdraw Ukraine's armed forces from the Donbass if Ukraine were admitted to NATO. Zelensky replied that he could raise this initiative for discussion.
Deputy head of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Andrey Klimov, in a comment to the "Podium" publication, stated that Russia "was forced to launch military defense precisely because NATO began to pose a strategic threat to us, continues to approach our territory and try to crush the entire territory of Ukraine under itself.
"I mean, what this character, so-called lyricist and piano player, is saying is that we must in fact somehow move away from our original ambitions: to ensure Russia's strategic security, if possible, forever.
We said: We are absolutely opposed to Ukraine's entry into NATO under any circumstances. I have no reason to believe that these core principles have changed in any way."
The deputy also compared land swap proposals to "bartering in the clothing market".
"The people who decided in the referendum to continue their historical development as part of the Russian state have already chosen. What exchange could there be? We do not engage in bartering in the clothing market. All these words from the western political lexicon, exchange of territories, some kind of deals instead of an agreement - this is not our vocabulary."