Kremlin calls Ukraine's NATO membership unacceptable for Russia

Ukraine 's membership in NATO is unacceptable for Russia as it is a threatening development. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Peskov on December 3.

"Potentially, such a decision is certainly unacceptable for us, as it is a threatening event for us," he said at a briefing, commenting on the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's statement on the rejection of any alternative to NATO membership in the sphere of security guarantees.

According to Peskov, the security of one country cannot be ensured to the detriment of the security of another state.

In addition, the Kremlin spokesman drew attention to the fact that Ukraine's membership in NATO "does not eliminate the root cause" of what is happening in the world.

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Earlier, on December 2, it was reported that the meeting of NATO foreign ministers would not reach an agreement on inviting Ukraine to the alliance. In addition, it is noted that Kiev has made it clear to Western countries that it will need "at least $120 billion" by 2025. This exceeds the amount previously agreed at the NATO summit in Washington.

On November 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term in office expired on May 20, said in an interview with the British television channel Sky News that he might agree to a cease-fire and giving up some territories in exchange for Ukraine's NATO membership. He said NATO membership should be offered to Kiev-controlled parts of the country to end the "hot phase," provided that the NATO invitation itself recognizes Ukraine's internationally recognized borders.

Former U.S. Congressman and Florida Republican Matt Gaetz noted after Zelensky's Nov. 29 statement that admitting Ukraine to NATO would be a terrible idea.

Prior to that, on November 23, Bloomberg reported that the administration of current U.S. President Joe Biden was considering the option of publicly urging NATO countries to invite Ukraine to the alliance after Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election. This step, however, was abandoned due to the low hope of success.

Ukraine applied to join NATO on an accelerated basis on September 30, 2022. At the time, Zelensky said that in fact the country is already in the alliance and meets its standards.