Ukraine is a sovereign state and will decide by itself whether or not to join NATO, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yevhen Perebyinis, declared on Wednesday, November 19, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
Perebyinis was responding to Russia’s demand for guarantees that Ukraine would never join NATO.
“I think that it is worth reminding our Russian colleagues that Ukraine is an independent sovereign state. And only the people of Ukraine have the right to decide what course our country should take and which organizations it joins. We do not need tips from the sidelines and, moreover, we do not accept pressure on these issues,” he said.
According to Perebyinis, Ukraine would also like to receive 100% guarantees from Russia that it will cease to interfere in the internal affairs of Ukraine and will stop sending its armies and annexing Ukrainian territories.
“For now Russia is incapable of giving such assurances. It is possible that in Moscow they haven’t noticed that this is causing outrage around the world,” he said.
As previously reported, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the BBC that Russia needs guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO. However, according to Peskov, no one has given such guarantees to Russia, forcing Moscow “to worry” and to take precautions. He also accused the West of trying to “encircle” Russia.
