Moscow-Sana
The Russian Foreign Ministry warned today of the consequences of Ukraine's possible accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), stressing that such a measure represents a dangerous step that Moscow will have to respond to.
Commenting on the statements of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the prospects of Ukraine's membership in NATO, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told RIA Novosti: This is not the first time that such positions have been issued by officials in NATO countries, and this approach is proven by official documents of the alliance, but we do not focus on Official positions, but rather practical steps, and we believe that this would be a very dangerous step that will force Russia to respond appropriately.
He affirmed Washington's support for Kiev in its Atlantic aspirations, adding: "Since these are negotiations between NATO and Ukraine, it is up to them to decide what is needed and when, but we have given them a kind of warning that any step will have consequences and NATO is aware of our position on Ukraine."
Last month, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that any possible accession of Ukraine to NATO poses a threat to Russia.