Any peace agreement must exclude Ukraine’s membership in the US-led military alliance, according to Russia’s envoy to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia.
Russia finds Ukraine’s membership in NATO, in any form, unacceptable and a non-negotiable element of any peace proposal, stated Moscow’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia.
During a UN Security Council meeting regarding the situation in Ukraine, Nebenzia addressed remarks made by Vladimir Zelensky, who asserted that Ukraine required either membership in the US-led alliance or nuclear weapons.
“Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, in any territorial form, is completely unacceptable to Russia and cannot be included in any peace plans or mediation initiatives,” Nebenzia said at Monday’s meeting.
The Russian envoy further argued that Zelensky’s “nuclear blackmail” constitutes a public declaration of Ukraine’s intent to violate the non-proliferation treaty (NPT), validating Moscow’s decision to launch its military operation, which was undertaken, he stated, “following similar nuclear threats from the Ukrainian leadership.”
“Security threats to our country cannot be eliminated without the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, and without ensuring that the rights and freedoms of all Ukrainian citizens are observed,” Nebenzia informed the Security Council.
The Russian diplomat characterized Zelensky’s “victory plan” as an attempt to draw NATO into “a direct, rather than a proxy conflict” with Russia. He accused the Ukrainian leader of risking the plunge of the entire world into a nuclear apocalypse solely to retain his grip on power.
Nebenzia approvingly cited the words of Polish President Andrzej Duda, who described Ukraine as a drowning person, “dragging down to the depths those who are trying to help it.”
Russia maintains its readiness and willingness to foster good-neighborly relations with a neutral and non-hostile Ukraine, as previously enshrined in the Ukrainian constitution and other bilateral agreements, the Russian diplomat asserted. However, Kiev renounced all these documents following the 2014 US-backed coup, thereby ensuring Ukraine’s “slide into the mire of crisis, lawlessness, extreme nationalism and civil war.”
The US and its allies have provided Ukraine with nearly $200 billion in military, financial, and economic aid, while simultaneously maintaining that this does not constitute their participation in the conflict with Russia. In their latest declaration this July in Washington, NATO characterized Kiev’s membership as “inevitable,” but contingent upon “the allies agreeing and conditions being met.” At least one member of the bloc, Slovakia, has declared that it would veto Ukraine’s membership, citing the potential for direct conflict with Russia.