Russia not only claims that NATO's membership abandonment is one of the main conditions for the end of the war but has demanded the cancellation of the 2008 Bucharest NATO summit decision, which promised Ukraine membership in the Alliance in the future, according to Reuters.
On 12 February, Trump announced the start of negotiations with Moscow to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, following calls with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin. His statement triggered a wave of criticism, as experts warned that it could be a ceasefire on Putin’s terms with a lack of security guarantees for Ukraine, especially after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations “unrealistic.” This conversation also stirred concerns in Europe, as its representatives were not involved in the negotiations. Amid uncertainty about whether the US will lead to a weakening of NATO due to its increasingly isolationist stance, many media outlets and analysts have labeled this strategy as a victory for Russia.
On 18 February, Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made a statement to journalists on NATO's Bucharest decision.
According to her, NATO should not just refrain from accepting Ukraine's membership. She stated that "the alliance must go further and revoke the promise it made at the Bucharest summit in 2008."
"Otherwise, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent," Zakharova said.
As of now, Ukraine, NATO, and the US have not reacted to this statement.
Earlier, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia’s willingness to keep Ukraine out of NATO aligns with the positions of the US and several European countries.
Speaking at a press conference in Türkiye, Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine needs to understand what states can genuinely provide security guarantees for Kyiv.
Zelenskyy: US, Russia share opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership
He noted that NATO members, European nations, and the US could offer them to Ukraine and hope for eventual membership in the Alliance.
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