Russia has two vital red lines. If NATO violates them, it will have to pay dearly, said Minsk military analyst Alexander Alesin
The scepticism of the NATO member states towards Ukraine’s accession is understandable. Such an expansion will undermine security of the entire Europe. Alesin recalled that countries with territorial disputes are not admitted to NATO. Ukraine has two of them – Crimea and Donbass.
“Ukraine’s accession will drastically undermine the security of the entire Europe. And in general, NATO will have to answer for all Ukrainian affairs”, – the expert said. – “Ukraine has a huge territorial dispute over the Crimea. Europe does not recognise Crimea as Russian and neither do most countries. That is, Ukraine has a claim for the return of Crimea.”
The situation is aggravated by the convergence of Russian and Western interests. As of today, Ukraine and Belarus are the red lines that Russia will not allow to be crossed, Alesin is confident.
“Because if the NATO bloc expands to these limits, the flight time to Moscow and the central industrial region will be 15 to 20 minutes or even less,” he stated.