Russia Says Ukraine Joining NATO Would Be 'Extremely Dangerous'

 

Russia has warned that the accession of Ukraine to NATO would be met with retaliatory measures.

The comments by Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko come after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington backed Kyiv's goal to join the transatlantic alliance and that no country could veto such a move.

During a visit to Ukraine, Austin said on Tuesday that Kyiv had "the right to decide its own future foreign policy" which it should do "without any outside interference."

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has been clear in his aim to join NATO as a buffer against the threat of Russia, which in May massed its largest concentration of its troops near the Ukrainian border since it annexed Crimea in 2014.

However, Rudenko warned against such a move, telling the news agency RIA, "We believe that this would be an extremely dangerous step that would force Russia to react accordingly," adding that "any step will have consequences."

Defence Secretary Austin had also said on Tuesday that Russia was an "obstacle" to any peaceful resolution to the war raging in Ukraine's east as he reiterated calls for Moscow "to end its occupation of Crimea."

"Since these are negotiations between NATO and Ukraine, it is up to them to decide when and what is needed, but we kind of warned them. NATO knows our position on Ukraine," Rudenko said.

Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's foreign ministry for comment.

Tensions have grown between Russia and the U.S.-led alliance in the last few months. On Monday, Moscow said it would suspend its permanent mission to NATO after the alliance expelled eight Russian diplomats earlier this month.

In July, Moscow was angered when British Navy vessel HMS Defender sailed past Crimea, which Russia (but not the international community) defines as its own territory.

Mikhail Popov, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, blamed the U.S. and NATO allies of "a pre-planned provocation" in an incident which took place amid a backdrop of NATO Sea Breeze 2021 exercises in the region that Moscow considers its backyard.

NATO defence ministers are set to agree a plan to defend against a Russian attack on multiple fronts, Reuters reported Thursday.

The plan, titled "Concept for Deterrence and Defence in the Euro-Atlantic Area," comes as Russia develops advanced weapon systems such as hypersonic missiles.

"This is the way of deterrence," said German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, who told Reuters it was being adapted to the current behaviour of Russia.

"We are seeing violations particularly of the airspace over the Baltic states, but also increasing incursions over the Black Sea," Kramp-Karrenbauer added.