Russia on Tuesday called on NATO to revoke its 2008 pledge to offer Ukraine membership in the alliance and for Ukraine to accept neutrality.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, argued that merely rejecting Ukraine’s NATO membership is not enough.
She said that NATO should formally withdraw the promise made in Bucharest in 2008, or the issue will continue to cause tension in Europe.
Zakharova added that Ukraine should return to its 1990 declaration of independence, which stated that it would be neutral, avoid military alliances, and remain free of nuclear weapons.
She also emphasized that NATO membership or Western peacekeeping missions would not provide Ukraine with the security it seeks.
In 2008, during a summit in Bucharest, NATO declared that both Ukraine and Georgia would eventually join the alliance, though no timeline or specific plan was provided.