As long as Russia believes it has the right to discuss Ukraine's membership in NATO, it will attack Ukraine - Rada committee chairmwoman

As long as Russia believes that it has the right to discuss the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO, it will attack Ukraine, believes Member of Parliament Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze (European Solidarity faction), head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the European Union.

"As long as Russia believes that the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO can be discussed with it, it will attack Ukraine. If Ukraine's membership in NATO is inevitable, as stated in NATO documents, then Russia will be forced to reconsider its approach to attacks on Ukraine," she told Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

According to the MP, neither the United States nor any other country has any mandate to discuss Ukraine's membership in NATO with Russia.

"This is not a Russian issue. This is a matter of relations between Ukraine and the Alliance, and this should be clearly communicated to both Russia and our partners. There is nothing justified in Russia's so-called concern regarding NATO's expansion to the countries of the former USSR. The fact that Russia swallowed the Swedish and Finnish membership in the Alliance indicates the artificiality, manipulativeness of these statements and the inadmissibility of taking into account Russian "arguments" by the Alliance partners," Klympush-Tsintsadze noted.

She emphasized that the Alliance's decision should be consensual regarding Ukraine's membership.

"There is currently no such consensus and, unfortunately, today the leader of NATO, the United States, is taking the position used by the Russian Federation. And we, as Ukraine, must continue to work at our levels with each member country of the Alliance, explaining why all previous NATO decisions should be implemented. And this is not only in the interests of Ukraine's security, it is in the interests of the entire Alliance," the MP said.

She recalled that Putin clearly stated in December 2021 that he wants to review NATO's borders to 1997.

"Therefore, frivolity with the decision on Ukraine's accession to the Alliance could lead to catastrophic security consequences for NATO itself. On the contrary, Ukraine's membership will strengthen this alliance," Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasized.

As reported, the US President's Special Envoy for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, stated that the issue of non-expansion of NATO, including Ukraine, has been repeatedly discussed and is a matter of concern for Russia.