Russia on Wednesday called a proposal for a security guarantee from Kiev and involving the West a threat, arguing that the project does not provide for Ukraine’s neutral status.
“No one is hiding that they want this document until the country joins NATO” [Organização do Tratado do Atlântico Norte]. I.e, [Kiev] continues to ask for Alliance membership. That is why it remains the greatest threat to our country.”Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said at a press conference in Moscow.
The Ukrainian presidency on Tuesday presented draft recommendations on security guarantees for Ukraine with the participation of the West, meaning more weapons for the country and more sanctions against Russia.
“We need an army strong enough to… […] cause irreparable damage to the aggressor. Security guarantees are meant to help us create such power”said the chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency, Andriy Yermak.
The senior official of the Ukrainian presidency stressed that the project is not intended to replace Ukraine’s accession to the Atlantic Alliance, but to create a way to ensure the country’s security until it joins NATO.
According to the chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs (Lower House of the Russian Parliament), Leonid Slutski, the Kiev initiative is aimed at “increasing the confrontation with Russia rather than solving the current situation”.
“This is not a single security guarantee, but a pact to involve NATO countries and allies. [ocidentais] in the conflict in Ukraine”argued Slutski.
For her part, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has already said that the proposal represents a “bond” for Western countries, “who would be obliged to continue providing the same amounts of aid to the Kiev regime”.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – in an offensive launched on February 24 – has already led to the flight of nearly 15 million people (one third of the national population), according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). .
Although some have already returned to the country, the UN has 6.8 million refugees and more than seven million internally displaced persons in Ukraine.
According to the United Nations, this is already the worst refugee crisis in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
