Russia: "Ukraine's Neutrality Helps Ease Tensions"...Reiterates Call to Halt NATO Expansion

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that if Ukraine's neutralization and a ban on membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are confirmed, it would help ease tensions. It also indicated that it would continue follow-up negotiations, expressing a desire for more concrete responses to the security demands to which the U.S. and NATO have sent written replies.

On the 9th (local time), Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, stated at a regular briefing, "To strengthen European security, NATO should abandon its 'Open door' policy, and Ukraine should return to the neutral, non-aligned status declared in 1990." This is interpreted as a reiteration of the demand to confirm Ukraine's neutralization and ban NATO membership.

Previously, Ukraine declared a neutral, non-aligned status shortly after gaining independence from the former Soviet Union in July 1990. Accordingly, it publicly declared that it would not participate in any military alliances and would remain a permanently neutral country. However, since Russia's forced annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine has hoped to join NATO.

Spokesperson Zakharova emphasized, "The de-escalation of tensions around Ukraine, which our Western partners talk and write about so much, can be achieved very quickly," adding, "For this, the West must stop supplying weapons to Ukraine and withdraw all previously supplied weapons from Ukrainian territory." She also demanded the suspension of joint exercises between Ukrainian and NATO forces and the withdrawal of Western military advisers and instructors from Ukrainian territory.

Regarding the security demands Russia sent earlier to the U.S. and the West, she said, "Russia has sent specific questions to the U.S. and NATO and wants to receive a response document with very specific content," suggesting that future negotiations will continue.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the European Union (EU) announced that it had delivered a written response to Russia's security demands following the U.S. Earlier, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, sent a letter on behalf of the 27 member states to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, stating, "Together with our NATO partners, we in the EU are ready to continue dialogue with Russia on ways to strengthen everyone's security."

The reason the EU delivered an official response is interpreted as an effort to present a unified reply after Russia sent security demands to individual EU countries, raising concerns about weakening cohesion. Bloomberg News reported, "EU's response was closely coordinated with NATO, and NATO also plans to send a similar letter independently, according to anonymous diplomats."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.