Putin: Russians, Ukrainians are 'one people'
Posted July 20, 2019 7:00 am
MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin says he believes Russians and Ukrainians constitute one nation and that the countries should find a way to integrate.
Putin made the comments in an interview with the American film director Oliver Stone on June 19; material from the interview was used in a Stone film about Ukraine and the full transcript was published by the Kremlin on Friday.
"I believe that Russians and Ukrainians are one people ... one nation, in fact," Putin said. "When these lands that are now the core of Ukraine joined Russia ... nobody thought of themselves as anything but Russians."
In light of this bond, Putin said "we can use this as our competitive advantage during some form of integration."
This photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by Kremlin Press Service shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, during an interview with American movie director Oliver Stone for his Revealing Ukraine documentary in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
This photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by Kremlin Press Service shows Russian President Vladimir Putin prior to an interview with American movie director Oliver Stone for his Revealing Ukraine documentary in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
This photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by Kremlin Press Service shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, during an interview with American movie director Oliver Stone, right, for his Revealing Ukraine documentary in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
This photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by Kremlin Press Service shows Russian President Vladimir Putin during an interview with American movie director Oliver Stone for his Revealing Ukraine documentary in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
This photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by Kremlin Press Service shows Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, during an interview with American movie director Oliver Stone, center right, for his Revealing Ukraine documentary in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by the Kremlin Press Service, US film director Oliver Stone gestures during his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his Revealing Ukraine documentary, in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by the Kremlin Press Service, US film director Oliver Stone gestures during his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his Revealing Ukraine documentary, in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by the Kremlin Press Service, US film director Oliver Stone listens during his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his Revealing Ukraine documentary, in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, and distributed by the Kremlin Press Service, US film director Oliver Stone listens during his interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin for his Revealing Ukraine documentary, in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
The Associated Press
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