Europe live: Putin claims he never opposed EU membership for Ukraine but draws line at Nato

Russian leader, continuing China visit, is joined by Slovakia’s Robert Fico

Over in Beijing, Russia’s Vladimir Putin has met with Slovak prime minister Robert Fico, with the pair giving brief statements to the media in the last few minutes.

In his remarks, Putin said that that Moscow had never opposed Ukraine’s potential membership of the European Union, and dismissed claims that Moscow was somehow planning to attack Europe.