CIS

Home page

CIS

Russia is "threatened" by Ukraine potentially joining NATO, Medvedev says

Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council

03 July 2023 09:19 (UTC +04:00)

Russia is "threatened" by the potential for Ukraine to join NATO, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, claimed on Sunday, APA reports citing CNN.

“We (Russia) have always asked for only one thing — to take into account our concerns and not to invite the former parts of our country into NATO,” Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister, wrote in an article for the state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper.
“Especially those with whom we have territorial disputes. Therefore, our goal is simple — to eliminate the threat of Ukraine's membership in NATO.”

Part of Russia’s premise for its invasion of Ukraine was to fend off NATO from expanding close to its borders.

And Medvedev said Moscow is ready to deliberately make the current conflict a permanent one, because "this is a matter of Russia's existence."