Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on 30 May that Russia was satisfied that its President Vladimir Putin’s position on Ukraine’s NATO membership “finds understanding” in Washington.
“President Putin has consistently made clear to his interlocutors, including American representatives, our position on the inadmissibility of NATO’s eastward expansion. We are happy that these explanations find understanding in Washington,” Russian media quoted Peskov as saying.
The day before, US Presidential Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said in an interview with NBC News that the United States recognised the validity of Russia’s concerns about the North Atlantic Alliance’s eastward expansion and was ready to discuss the issue with Moscow.
“This is an issue Russia will always raise. They are not just talking about Ukraine. They bring up Georgia and Moldova as well. And we say: OK, we can discuss stopping NATO expansion to your border. This is their security interest,” Kellogg said.
According to him, for the US, Ukraine’s accession to NATO is not yet on the agenda.
“And we are not the only country that says so. I can name four more NATO countries that will confirm this. And we need all 32 countries to agree to join,” emphasised Trump’s special envoy.
Recently, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly adopted a declaration in which it reaffirmed support for Ukraine, including on the path to membership in the Alliance. The Assembly called on member countries to increase military aid to Ukraine, strengthen sanctions against Russia, as well as to invite Ukraine to participate in the NATO summit in The Hague and to hold meetings of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of heads of state and government.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, when asked about the prospects for Ukraine’s membership in NATO, said that “it is happening step by step”, but one should focus on immediate needs. He also reminded that allies agree that Ukraine’s future is in NATO and they are working to “build a bridge”, it consists of, for example, separate bilateral security agreements between allies and Ukraine.
Kiev insists that Ukraine’s NATO membership is the best guarantee of the country’s security.
In February, US President Donald Trump said that NATO membership for Ukraine would be ruled out as part of a settlement of the Russia-Ukraine war. He also expressed doubts about NATO’s principle of collective defence, saying that the USA should not defend member states that fail to meet defence spending requirements.