NATO Secretary General: Russia Should Not Be Afraid of Ukraine’s Joining the Alliance | News from Germany about Ukraine | DW

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia should not be afraid of Ukraine joining NATO. “The expansion of NATO over the past decades has essentially contributed to peace and stability throughout Europe, so Russia should in no way fear or try to veto or prevent any sovereign country from joining the alliance,” he said at a press conference following the second day. consultations of NATO defense ministers on Friday, October 22, in Brussels.

Stoltenberg responded negatively to the question of whether he fears that opening up the prospect of joining NATO for Ukraine could provoke Russian aggression.

“No, I’m not afraid, partly because NATO is a defensive alliance, and partly because the question of when Ukraine joins NATO should be decided by Ukraine and the 30 member countries of the alliance. Sovereign independent states have the right to choose their own path. It is up to Ukraine to decide whether it wants to join NATO, and the business of 30 members of the alliance is to decide when Ukraine will be ready for this and when it will meet NATO standards, “Jens Stoltenberg said.

Putin fears Ukraine joining NATO

On the eve of October 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi said that the military support provided by the West to Ukraine poses a threat to his country. Formal entry of Ukraine into the alliance may not happen, but the military development of Ukraine by NATO countries is already underway, and this poses a threat to Russia, he said.

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, at a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrei Taran in Kiev, said that “no third country has the right to veto NATO membership,” and Ukraine “has the right to decide its future foreign policy without external interference.”

See also:

• The European Union and NATO in the post-Soviet space

  Integration into Europe

  Of the countries of the former USSR, only the Baltic countries are currently full members of the European Union: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia joined the EU on May 1, 2004. Six more countries participate in the EU’s Eastern Partnership program: three of them – Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia – have signed an association agreement with the EU.

• 

  The European Union and NATO in the post-Soviet space

  EU Eastern Partnership Program

  Six post-Soviet countries – Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan – are currently participating in the Eastern Partnership program aimed at deepening ties between the republics of the former USSR and the European Union. It is noteworthy that Belarus and Armenia are simultaneously members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which also includes Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

• 

  The European Union and NATO in the post-Soviet space

  Eastern Partnership at two speeds

  Recently, the division of the Eastern Partnership countries into two groups has intensified. The first includes Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which have signed an association agreement with the EU. In the second – Belarus, Azerbaijan and Armenia, which did not conclude such an agreement. An associated state can get duty-free access to EU markets in exchange for reforms.

• 

  The European Union and NATO in the post-Soviet space

  Who needs an EU visa

  Citizens of the Baltic states, which joined the EU in 2004, enjoy the right of free movement and can work in any EU country on an equal basis with citizens of one or another EU state. Holders of Ukrainian, Moldovan or Georgian passports can visit Schengen countries without visas. Citizens of Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Azerbaijan still require a visa for these purposes.

• 

  The European Union and NATO in the post-Soviet space

  NATO integration

  Of the republics of the former USSR, only three Baltic countries are still full members of the North Atlantic Alliance. Ukraine and Georgia have been granted the status of a “postgraduate country”: this means that the state has officially expressed its interest in joining NATO and has received an invitation to join an intensive dialogue on membership issues

  Author: Alexandra Elkina

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