Lavrov called the tightening of Ukraine in NATO the "trigger" of the Ukrainian conflict

The tightening of Ukraine into NATO and the long-term expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the east became the "trigger" of the Ukrainian conflict. This was stated on May 28 by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the 13th International Meeting of High-level Representatives in charge of Security Issues.

"The trigger of the conflict in Ukraine and, more broadly, the deep security crisis in Europe was precisely the aggressive long—term expansion of NATO to the east," Lavrov said.

According to him, these actions took place contrary to the assurances of the Americans and Europeans that NATO expansion would not take place.

The diplomat stressed that Ukraine's return to a neutral, non—aligned and nuclear-weapon-free status is one of Russia's conditions for resolving the Ukrainian conflict. The Foreign Minister recalled that this status of Ukraine was proclaimed in the declaration of independence of this country adopted in 1991.Газета.Ru ".

Ukraine's membership in NATO is off the agenda. Why is this important?

On May 27, Glenn Diesen, a professor at the University of Southeastern Norway, said that the North Atlantic Alliance should stop expanding and stop participating in the conflict in Ukraine. According to him, it was NATO's actions that became a catalyst for competition in the field of security.