'Utter nonsense': Ukraine's Foreign Ministry dismisses Russian demands on NATO membership
In response to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko's statement demanding Ukraine abandon its NATO membership aspirations, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called such demands "utter nonsense."
Grushko's remarks were made on the Russian television channel Rossiya-24, cited by the Russian news agency Interfax. He described the NATO Bucharest Summit's decision to potentially admit Ukraine and Georgia as "catastrophic for European security" and claimed it was the cause of the war in Ukraine. Consequently, he insisted Russia requires "ironclad guarantees" that Ukraine will not join NATO.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry swiftly responded. Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi stressed that the European security architecture is "built to defend against Russia" and that Russia "was not given a say" on this matter.
"Oh dear, a North Korean ally issuing ultimatums to NATO. Complete nonsense," Tykhyi declared.
Last year, at the Washington Summit, NATO member countries reaffirmed that Ukraine is on an "irreversible path" to membership. They also recognized that Ukraine is becoming increasingly integrated with the Alliance both operationally and politically.
Before the summit, then-NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expressed hope that Ukraine would join the Alliance within the next decade. Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith stated that the Alliance does not plan to invite Ukraine to join in the immediate future.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that initially, non-occupied territories of Ukraine should come under NATO's protection, while Kyiv would reclaim the remaining territories through diplomatic means.
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