13 okt 2022: Admission of Ukraine to NATO can lead to third world war, Russia warns

 

Admission of Ukraine to NATO can lead to third world war, Russia warns

Euractiv.com with Reuters

 13 okt 2022

https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/admission-of-ukraine-to-nato-can-lead-to-third-world-war-russia-warns/

 

     The admission of Ukraine to NATO could result in a third world war, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Alexander Venediktov, told the state TASS news agency in an interview on Thursday (13 October).

 

“Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War Three,” TASS cited Venediktov as saying.

 

“Apparently, that’s what they are counting on – to create informational noise and draw attention to themselves once again.”

 

Venediktov also repeated a Russian position that the West, by helping Ukraine, indicated that “they are a direct party to the conflict”.

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a surprise bid for fast-track membership of the NATO military alliance at the end of September, after President Vladimir Putin held a ceremony in Moscow to proclaim the four partially occupied regions as annexed Russian land.

 

In a joint statement, the presidents of Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro and North Macedonia said they “firmly stand behind” a NATO decision made at the 2008 Bucharest summit on Ukraine’s membership prospects to the alliance.

 

Back then, NATO allies had pledged that Ukraine and Georgia would eventually become members without setting a clear timeline for accession. The process stalled over the years, and after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, it seemed increasingly unlikely that the bid would become a reality.

 

Nine NATO allies back Ukraine's path to membership

Nine Central and Eastern European NATO member states on Sunday (2 October) declared they supported a path to NATO membership for Kyiv, following its application on Friday.

 

Other countries such as Bulgaria said there were against Ukraine’s NATO bid. Slovenia said it hesitated.

 

NATO’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg shied away from endorsing Ukraine’s bid, reiterating the alliance’s open-door policy.

 

The US has been silent in response to Zelenskyy’s surprise bid, which doesn’t appear having been coordinated with Washington.

 

(With additional reporting by Georgi Gotev)