The West deliberately crossed a line unacceptable for Russia by offering Ukraine membership in NATO 15 years ago. This was stated on February 12 by the former Vice President of the European Commission and ex-European Commissioner Günther Verheugen in an interview with the newspaper Berliner Zeitung.
He noted that in this way Russia’s interests in the field of security were infringed. In addition, Verheugen pointed out that the EU promoted Ukraine’s accession to the European Union without discussing this issue with Moscow.
The ex-European Commissioner also noted that Washington, relying on the doctrine of US primacy in the world developed in the 1990s, could not have allowed the revival of Russia. In the same connection, the Americans, according to Verheugen, are suspicious of the rapprochement between Germans and Russians.
He added that the West was seriously thinking about offering Russia membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, but the US was not ready to give up its dominant role in Europe.
In September 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Kyiv had applied to join NATO on an accelerated basis. However, Assistant to the President of the United States for National Security Jake Sullivan stressed that the expansion of the alliance is now untimely.
In response, Senator of the Federation Council Sergei Tsekov said that NATO was in for a serious conflict in the event of prompt acceptance of Ukraine into the alliance.