Kosachev called for an equal assessment of the expansion of NATO and the EU

There is a military component to the EU's activities, so it is necessary to change attitudes towards EU enlargement and identify it in the same category as the NATO enlargement process. This was stated to Izvestia by Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation.

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"We see what the EU has become now. We see how dissent is being persecuted in the European Union, and how EU countries are being forced to consolidate their positions on sanctions against Russia and a number of other countries. And, without any doubt, there is also a military component in the activities of the European Union. And this is a completely different organization, so, from my point of view, we need to change our attitude towards EU enlargement and identify it in the same category in which we have always classified the process of NATO enlargement. That is, as a process that does not meet Russia's interests, and may even threaten," he said.

According to him, this will lead to an assessment of Ukraine's prospects for joining the EU.

"If these trends continue in the European Union, Ukraine's accession to the EU will become an undesirable scenario for us," Kosachev said.