Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the accession of Ukraine to NATO would be a declaration of war against Moscow and only "prudence" on behalf of the alliance could prevent the planet being shattered into pieces.
The leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation pledged at their summit last week to support Ukraine on an "irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership," but left open when that membership could happen.
Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and a leading voice among the Kremlin's hawks, told the news outlet Argumenty I Fakty that Ukraine's membership would go beyond a direct threat to Moscow's security.
"This, in essence, would be a declaration of war - albeit with a delay," he said in remarks published on Wednesday.
"For Russia, nothing will change, since key decisions are made not by NATO member countries, but by one state - the United States," Medvedev said.
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Then war it is. Russia doesn’t get the dictate the foreign policies of sovereign nations, regardless, where they are geographically. if it takes a full on war to get this through the Russians heads and that’s what’s going to have to happen. the world cannot allow a country to think that it can dictate what other countries do under the threat of violence. we certainly are justified and using violence to stop that.
@RatifiedCatGreen2yrs2Y
I would hope people making statements like “then war it is” also support a military draft with no exceptions. The politicians deciding war need to have some skin in the game too.
Wow! Is it not the United States that has always imposed its opinion on other countries? Should you list these conflicts? The difference is that the US has never fought with its neighbors because of geographical features, but has always fought wherever it could!
To avoid Ukraine's current circumstance - being mercilessly invaded by an imperial neighbor - all of the ex-Warsaw Pact countries are thankful to have had the foresight to join NATO. NATO is an open, defensive alliance, and Ukraine will certainly join, once this current war is settled. Nothing has done more to strengthen NATO than Putin's invasion.
What SHOULD happen is to invite Ukraine into NATO today, and order Russia out of all of Ukraine, or else! Call their bluff NATO! Russia is a paper tiger, and has conveniently ignored the fact that several NATO countries ALSO have nukes! It's obvious that Russia doesn't think NATO has the resolve and courage to fight Russia. Big mistake, Russia! BIG mistake!
He’s not threatening to declare war on NATO. He’s pointing out that all NATO nations are obligated to declare war on Russia if Ukraine joins NATO.
If you really believe Putin is such an evil man (I personally do), do you trust him to not press the launch button if a NATO army is in Russian territory knocking on the Kremlin’s door? Russia has enough nuclear weapons to destroy the world multiple times over.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
What does the threat of war over Ukraine joining NATO say about international power dynamics?
@9R37VXKIndependent2yrs2Y
It says Putin is delusional and the conservatives have succeeded in restoring the Cold War for no good reason.
@9R2P9FXRepublican2yrs2Y
Russia has been and always will be a bully, a corrupt, broken state where most people are brainwashed... So is Ukraine. Ukraine should give back the land that is not rightfully its back to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova and Russia. The present borders of Ukraine were created by Lenin in order to steal land from the Western countries and later to keep the power after the collapse of the Soviet union. Also Crimea should be independent.
@Mastertj99999Republican2yrs2Y
America needs to focus more on nuclear defense and less on accepting Ukraine to NATO. I am all for Ukraine being in NATO, so long as America has the capability to defend off 6,500 nuclear bombs reliably, which they don't, they can only fend off maybe 400. That is a lot of ground to make up, better get on it.
@YearlyCheeseRepublican2yrs2Y
Russia has no say on Ukraine, although they think they do. It hasn't been part of their country for decades. Russia has absolutely no say on NATO. And if Medvedev would just pay attention to the news, Russia is already at war. And they are having a real hard time making progress against Ukraine's military, only a fraction of the size of Russia's, with only a fraction of the weapons and manufacturing capability of Russia. And Ukraine has been fighting this war with one hand tied behind its back, with restrictions on how it can use the few weapons systems that it has been provided by NATO countries. Russia is truly a paper tiger and would stand no chance against a NATO military. And after listening to Medvedev's threats and red lines, nobody takes him seriously anymore.
@ISIDEWITH2yrs2Y
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