Russia's Foreign Ministry: Ukraine's NATO Membership is Excluded

Ukraine's membership in NATO is excluded. This was stated by Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, in an interview with TASS.

He made this comment in response to a reporter's observation that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had conditioned Kyiv's membership on a victory over Russia in the war.

“So, this will never happen. I hope Mr. Stoltenberg understands this. He knows better than I do how the infamous decision of 2008 was prepared, when NATO leaders at the highest levels wrote that Ukraine would become a member of NATO. This generally was the catalyst for the entire crisis we see today,” said Ryabkov.

When asked by the journalist, “So, in your opinion, will Ukraine ever join NATO?” Ryabkov responded, “I think it is excluded.”