Kremlin says joining the EU is Ukraine's sovereign right

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it was Ukraine's sovereign right to decide whether it wanted to join the European Union and that Moscow did not intend to dictate to Kyiv how it should approach the question.

Asked if Ukraine could one day join the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "This is the sovereign right of any country."

"We are talking about integration and economic integration processes. And here, of course, no one can dictate anything to any country, and we are not going to do that," Peskov said.

Peskov added, though, that Russia's position was different when it came to Ukraine joining military alliances.

"There is a completely different position, of course, on security-related issues related to defence or military alliances," Peskov said.