Stoltenberg: We will never compromise on NATO’s open door membership policy

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kulba ahead of a NATO-Ukraine meeting in Brussels today (Monday) that NATO had never commented on Its open door membership policy will not compromise.

He added that the military alliance would help Ukraine move towards membership. He also said that this week’s security talks with Russia may not solve all the problems at once, but it could still provide a way to prevent a conflict.

“There is a possibility of a deal with Russia,” Stoltenberg said.

According to AFP, the NATO secretary general also warned Russia of “heavy costs” in the wake of the West’s recent anti-Moscow stance on its decision to invade Ukraine, saying the military alliance supported Kiev’s right to self-defense.

The remarks came as Russian and US delegations began talks on security guarantees in Geneva. Earlier, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that although Moscow was ready to hear Washington’s position on the non-deployment of missiles on Ukrainian soil, the talks would only be effective if the Budapest summit revised its decision on Ukraine’s possible membership in NATO. Be.

In an interview with RIA Novosti, Ryabkov said that if the United States and NATO do not pay attention to the issues raised by Russia in the upcoming talks, they may face the worst threat to their security.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and his US counterpart Wendy Sherman are scheduled to lead security talks in Geneva from today. Russian envoys are also scheduled to meet with representatives of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels on January 12. A broader meeting of representatives of Russia, the United States and other European countries will follow in Vienna on 13 January.

It was on December 17 that the Russian Foreign Ministry released a draft of security agreements with the United States and NATO. These guarantees specifically reject the further expansion of the NATO alliance to the east and the entry of the former Soviet Union into it. The draft also allows the bloc to withdraw from any military activity in Ukraine, other Eastern European countries, as well as in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

In recent weeks, senior Russian officials have repeatedly denied allegations that Moscow was preparing to invade Ukraine, and warned the United States and Western countries about NATO’s expansion into Russia’s borders and the membership of countries such as Ukraine in the Western military alliance.

A senior US government official said Saturday evening that Washington was reluctant to discuss restrictions on the deployment of US troops or their distribution status in NATO countries in the region.

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Sunday evening, Tehran time: “We do not pay attention to the deployment of troops and the level of troops.” Conversely, if Russia commits another aggression against Ukraine, I think it is a very fair prospect that NATO will strengthen its position along its eastern flank, the countries bordering Russia.

He also said he would not negotiate with Russia over Ukraine’s membership in NATO, and that NATO had never made a commitment not to expand.

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