Barroso: Putin told me he does not want the existence of Ukraine.

Barroso sheds light on Putin's true intentions regarding Ukraine

Jose Manuel Barroso, former president of the European Commission, reveals details of his meetings with Vladimir Putin, during which the Russian leader shared his views on Ukraine.

In an interview for the project 'The Europe Conversation' by Euronews, Barroso spoke about 25 personal meetings with Putin, where he openly discussed Ukraine.

'Putin once said to me: 'Why are you protecting Ukraine? You know very well that Ukraine is an artificial country created by the CIA and the European Commission,'' Barroso quoted Putin's words.

According to him, Putin wants Ukraine to become a sort of 'Russia B' without independence in foreign policy and defense.

Barroso also stated that it is impossible to return Crimea to Ukraine, and the imposed sanctions are insufficient.

'After the annexation of Crimea, there were three possibilities. The first – a direct war against Russia, which no one wanted, and still does not want. The second – to make a sort of diplomatic condemnation, which would have almost zero effect. And there was a middle path – sanctions, which we approved, with the support of Germany, France, and Great Britain,' Barroso said.

He also added that Russia is suffering great losses due to the conflict in Donbas and the future of all Europe and democratic values depends on supporting Ukraine.