“Kiev is well aware that such a move would mean a guaranteed escalation into World War III.” The statement was made by deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, Alexander Venediktov, and comes as a warning about Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO.
The Russian leader told TASS news agency on Thursday that Ukrainians are “apparently” counting on integration into the Atlantic Alliance “to create information noise and draw attention to themselves again.”
Venediktov also stressed that by helping Ukraine, the West is participating in this war, which has been going on since February 24. “We are aware that despite statements of non-involvement in the events in Ukraine, the actual actions of Westerners show that they are a direct part of the conflict.he stated.
It drew attention that if Ukraine joins NATO, the West’s involvement in the war “automatically” takes on a new dimension, with the entry into force of Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which states that an attack on a NATO member an attack on all members of the Atlantic Alliance.
The statements by the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council come after the president of Ukraine submitted an “accelerated” formal candidacy to NATO in response to Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions (Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporijia). “We are taking a decisive step,” said Volodymyr Zelensky at the time.
A membership application that was “immediately supported by Western Europeans, including [países] Baltic countries,” the Russian leader recalls.
For Venediktov, accepting Ukraine’s membership in the Atlantic Alliance will be a suicide act. “NATO members themselves understand the suicidal nature of this move,” he said.
He underlined that Russia’s position on this point remains unchanged: “Ukraine’s accession to NATO or other alliances formed under the auspices of the United States is unacceptable to us.”
Source: DN
