In the midst of growing tensions over NATO expansion and suspicions that Russia is ready to attack Ukraine, Russia’s foreign minister alleges that NATO wants to bring Ukraine into the alliance.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also questioned NATO’s claim to be a solely defensive organization in comments broadcast on state television on Sunday.
The massing of an estimated 100,000 Russian troops along Ukraine’s border has prompted increasingly harsh warnings from the West that Moscow is planning an invasion. Russia, in response, asks that NATO guarantee that Ukraine will never be admitted to the alliance, that NATO armaments will not be deployed near Russian borders, and that NATO forces will withdraw from Eastern Europe.
Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia’s Security Council, dismissed Western concerns about an impending invasion on Sunday.
“At the moment, they’re claiming that Russia is threatening Ukraine – it’s utterly ludicrous,” he said, according to state news agency Tass. “We don’t want war, and we certainly don’t require it.”
Russia has long objected to NATO admitting nations that were once part of the Soviet Union or were under the Warsaw Pact’s area of influence.
“NATO has already approached Ukraine.” “They want to drag this country there as well,” Lavrov explained. “Although everyone recognizes that Ukraine is unprepared and incapable of contributing to NATO security.”
Ukraine has been seeking membership in NATO for years, but any chances of joining remain remote as the country struggles to achieve political stability and combat corruption.
Lavrov again emphasized Russia’s view that NATO expansion is a concern because the alliance has engaged in military measures outside of its member states.
“It’s hard to call it defensive.” Remember how they attacked Yugoslavia for nearly three months, invaded Libya in violation of a United Nations Security Council resolution, and acted in Afghanistan,” he remarked.
The US and NATO have formally rejected Russia’s requests for a halt to NATO expansion, yet Washington has indicated areas where talks may take place, giving hope that a peaceful solution could be found.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has made no public comments on the Western response. Lavrov has stated that there is minimal possibility of reaching an agreement, but he has also stated that Russia does not want to go to war.
According to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Putin could use any part of his force to capture Ukrainian towns and “important territory,” as well as engage in “coercive or provocative political measures,” such as the recognition of separatist entities within Ukraine.
Since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, two territories in eastern Ukraine have been under the authority of Russia-backed insurgents.
