Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that he is extremely surprised that Russia demands guarantees that Kiev will not join the North Atlantic Alliance
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was necessary to officially disavow the decision of the 2008 Bucharest Summit of the North Atlantic Alliance that Georgia and Ukraine would become members of NATO in some time as “contradicting the commitment of the leaders of all OSCE participating states: not to strengthen their security at the expense of the security of others”.
“Our state gave up its part of the Soviet nuclear arsenal – the third most powerful in the world – and in return received, including from Russia, an assurance to respect our borders and our security. All of this has been thrown into the trash. That is why it is surprising to hear the Russian side asking for any guarantees [of Ukraine’s non-membership in NATO] when so many promises have already been broken by the Russian side itself”, – Zelensky said.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for the launch of substantive talks on achieving legal guarantees of the North Atlantic Alliance’s non-extension to the east. According to him, the threat on Russia’s western borders continues to grow, so Moscow is forced to take “adequate military and technical measures”.