The Kremlin continues to negatively assess the intention of the Ukrainian authorities to join NATO and the declaration of support for this aspiration from the United States, said the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov.

“We, of course, drew attention to the topic of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations, which were voiced, that is, Ukraine's desire to join NATO and the potential willingness to welcome this desire on the part of the Americans.

The Russian President has repeatedly stated our very clear and understandable consistent position regarding the continuation of the NATO military infrastructure approaching our borders: this is something that we do not like at all, "Peskov emphasized.

So the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation commented on the talks held in Washington between Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky, at which the Ukrainian leader again raised the issue of Kiev's entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.

In addition, Peskov negatively assessed the agenda of these negotiations in relation to Russia. 

“Unfortunately, mostly with a minus sign.

Rather, in simple terms, it is about the Ukrainian-American friendship against Russia.

That is, they are not friends for themselves, but against Russia, ”said Peskov.

According to him, "it can only cause regret."

Unanswered question

Negotiations between Biden and Zelensky at the White House took place on September 1.

The meeting lasted more than two hours and ended without a final joint press conference.

In his address before the start of the talks, Zelenskiy once again raised the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO.

He said he would like to discuss with Biden his vision of Kiev joining the alliance and the timing of this process.

At the same time, Western media note that the President of Ukraine did not get any specifics from Biden on this issue.

“Having met in the Oval Office with US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy put pressure on him in connection with the issue of NATO membership, but he never received a concrete answer.

Zelenskiy raised questions about Ukraine's most important strategic goal - joining NATO - but Biden was more interested in expressing US opposition to "Russian aggression," writes German Deutsche Welle.

Instead of making a statement regarding Kiev's possible NATO membership, Biden said the US is fully committed to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of "Russian aggression" and supports Kiev's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

The first deputy head of the international committee of the Federation Council, Vladimir Dzhabarov, in an interview with RT, called these words of the US president on duty and devoid of practical meaning: "I did not even doubt that he would say so, but this does not mean anything."

In turn, White House spokesman Jen Psaki previously confirmed Washington's position that the United States will not make a sole decision on Kiev's NATO membership.

She recalled that Ukraine is still expected to carry out reforms aimed at establishing the rule of law, modernizing the defense sector and increasing economic growth.

“Ukraine must take certain steps, and it knows which ones well,” Psaki emphasized.

  • Vladimir Zelensky and Joe Biden

Despite this, Zelensky, following negotiations with the US President, told reporters that Biden allegedly personally supports Ukraine in the issue of its entry into NATO.

“We talked a lot about NATO - about the place, role, and where Ukraine is in this alliance ... I heard that the president personally supports Ukraine regarding the granting of NATO membership, but what the path will be, it’s hard for me to tell you now,” Zelensky said. TASS.

Desires and possibilities

We will remind, in recent months, the Zelensky administration has actively accelerated the issue of Kiev's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.

So, in April, during a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the Ukrainian leader said that the receipt of the Action Plan for membership in the bloc (one of the formal stages of the country's admission to the alliance) "will be a real signal for Russia."

“We strive to reform our army and defense sector, but reforms alone cannot stop Russia.

NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbass, ”Zelensky was quoted as saying by his press service.

Kiev made another unsuccessful attempt to speed up the consideration of this issue in early June.

Then the White House refused to hold a meeting between Biden and Zelensky before the summit of the US President with Vladimir Putin on June 16, which the Ukrainian side insisted on.

  • Ukrainian and American military at the Rapid Trident 2020 exercise

  • Reuters

  • © Gleb Garanich

Biden limited himself to a telephone conversation with Zelensky, following which the Ukrainian side issued a statement saying that the head of the White House "stressed the importance of providing Ukraine with an action plan for NATO membership."

However, the later edition of Axios, citing a statement by a representative of the National Security Council, reported that such an interpretation of the words of the US President was incorrect.

After that, the release was edited, and from there the mention of the prospects of Kiev's membership in NATO disappeared.

On the eve of the summit with the President of the Russian Federation, Biden once again voiced his position that Ukraine can expect to receive an action plan after it fully meets the necessary criteria, among which he singled out the fight against corruption.

In July, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the country had carried out enough reforms to become a full member of the alliance, and would like to receive an answer to the question of when this will happen.

According to him, NATO should admit that they do not want to accept Kiev into their ranks because of the fear of some members of an aggravation in relations with Russia.

“We are ready to continue, and we will continue, not only because of NATO, but also because of our personal security interests.

But we want an honest answer in return - an answer to the question: "When?"

We understand that NATO membership is not a date on the calendar that can be highlighted in red.

But we have done enough to deserve the next step in our Euro-Atlantic integration, ”Kuleba said.

Convenient status

Konstantin Blokhin, a leading researcher at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in a conversation with RT that Moscow's discontent with Kiev's attempts to join NATO is justified.    

“This is an objective position, because all the existential challenges to Russian statehood come from the West, as a result of which Russia had to push this unfriendly front as far as possible from its borders.

If Ukraine becomes a NATO member, then, of course, it will pose a threat to the national security of the Russian Federation, ”the expert explained.

This opinion is shared by Nikita Danyuk, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Studies and Forecasts of the RUDN University, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia.

“The position of the Kremlin is absolutely obvious, Russia is not interested in Ukraine joining all kinds of Euro-Atlantic structures, including NATO.

Despite the declaration of conditional neutrality, NATO is an enemy organization that views the Russian Federation as a potential threat.

Naturally, the expansion of the military structure at the Russian borders, especially the military contingents of the United States and Western European countries, Russia will consider as a threat to national security, "said the interlocutor of RT.

At the same time, Ukraine should not count on an early entry into the alliance, since its current status is quite suitable for the United States and other members of the bloc, and they do not see the need to change it, Blokhin believes.

“Such partnerships, which now exist between the United States and Ukraine, completely suit the White House administration.

In fact, Ukraine is not in NATO, but it is an instrument for achieving the goals of the alliance, while the United States has no obligations to it, ”the expert emphasized.

Given that the topic of Ukraine was not so important for Donald Trump, Zelensky hoped that under Biden, the US attitude towards Ukraine would radically change, Blokhin recalled.

“However, as we can see, the meeting with Biden did not bring the results Kiev needed, including instead of the expected billions of dollars, Ukraine received only $ 60 million in aid for the country's defense,” the analyst said.

In turn, political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak also noted that Russia's position in relation to Kiev's Euro-Atlantic aspirations is fully justified, since this will inevitably lead to the approach of NATO's military infrastructure directly to the borders of the Russian Federation.

“If NATO takes concrete steps to include Ukraine in the alliance, this can lead to serious consequences.

The United States realistically evaluates the consequences of Ukraine's accession to NATO, and therefore shifts the responsibility for this decision onto the rest of the bloc.

They understand that this will border on an attempt to declare war on Russia, so now they are refusing to Ukraine, ”the expert concluded.