Reuters and Russian state-run Tass reporting comments from President Vladimir Putin at his meeting with Slovakian PM Robert Fico in Beijing, China. Putin says "Europe's claims that Russia allegedly plans to attack it are a provocation or complete incompetence," adding, "Russia was forced to defend its interests and people in Donbass, this is the essence of the conflict in Ukraine".
- Putin claims that Russia "have never opposed Ukraine's European Union membership", but Ukrainian membership of NATO is "a different question" and "unnaceptable to Russia", adding "NATO tried to absorb almost the entire post-Soviet space, Russia was forced to react to this."
- Putin: "The Russian Federation has long tolerated attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on its energy facilities, and now it has begun to respond seriously."
- The president adds that he discussed with Trump in Alaska options for ensuring Ukraine's security after the end of the conflict, and he is confident in the possibility of finding a consensus on the issue of ensuring Ukraine’s security.
- In a rare meeting with an EU head of gov't, Slovakian PM Robert Fico says that his gov't will vote against the European Council's adoption of the Repower EU plan, which implies abandoning fossil fuels from Russia by 2027. Fico says Slovakia remains interested in energy cooperation w/Russia on O&G.
- Such actions risk a significant pushback from Brussels and other EU member states, and will feature prominently in Fico's in-person talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in eastern Slovakia on Friday, 5 Sep.