Ukrainian army troops are in a field on the outskirts of Izyum, Eastern Ukraine. FILE IMAGE: AP Photo/Sergei Grits
On October 29th, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said that Russia “will act” if Georgia and Ukraine join NATO.
“We are following with alarm NATO’s policy aimed at the active militarization of the European continent. We see efforts being made to involve more and more NATO member countries, I mean the Balkans first of all,” Shoigu said during a meeting with Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos.
Furthermore, Andrei Kelin, Director of the Department of European Cooperation of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Ukraine and Georgia’s accession to NATO is possible, albeit unlikely. He was cited by UNIAN saying that their entry into the alliance would pose a colossal economic problem for Russia.
However, he was also cited saying that as per NATO requirements, countries that are currently into a territorial dispute or in a conflict are not eligible to join.
“In the current situation, neither of the two countries complies with these principles, but the attitude toward these principles is changing. We see this in the example of the latest extensions, especially in Montenegro. More is being done to please the political expediency of Western countries,” Kelin said. “They began to approach these principles very flexibly. What will happen if Ukraine and Georgia join NATO? For us, this will be a colossal military and economic problem.”
According to Krelin, Russia will have to “build a defensive belt near our third capital, Sochi,” which will require spending “enormous resources to prevent possible actions by a conditional enemy.”
He also stressed that this is doubly valid for Ukraine and that such spending would be “inevitable.”
“The length of the Ukrainian border is colossal – it is not equipped at all and we will have to build defensive echelons there… in relation to Ukraine,” Kelin said.
The diplomat, however, conceded that the situation “does not dictate that this can happen in the near future, but if these relations have been launched and if our Western once-used-to-be-partners follow the path of further confrontation, this can happen and we will have to prepare for this very seriously.”
Both Georgia and Ukraine have compliated relations with Russia.
At least a part of Russia’s concerns stem from the US withdrawal from the INF treaty. According to the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin looks forward to discussing US plans to exit the treaty with US President Donald Trump when the two meet in Paris on November 11th.
The Express cited, the Kremlin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov:
“There are still a lot of questions concerning strategic stability, even more so in the context of the stated US intention to leave the INF. All of this will of course be on the agenda.”
Earlier, on July 19, 2018, Putin warned NATO against cultivating closer ties with Ukraine and Georgia. He claimed that such a move would irresponsible and would pose consequences for the alliance.
While speaking to Russian diplomats in Moscow, the Russian president said that there was a need to restore trust in Europe. He also spoke against NATO’s alleged attempts to deploy new bases and military infrastructure near Russia’s border. Attempts that have become apparent since then.
“We will respond appropriately to such aggressive steps, which pose a direct threat to Russia,” said Putin. Our colleagues, who are trying to aggravate the situation, seeking to include, among others, Ukraine and Georgia in the orbit of the alliance, should think about the possible consequences of such an irresponsible policy.”
Putin said that he had discussed the issue with Trump at their summit in Helsinki on July 16th. There will possibly be developments in this regard after both leaders meet on November 11th in Paris during the 60th World War I commemoration.
Looks like Russia is begging for reconciliation with USA.
What are you smoking?
I dont see that at all. They do talk.
An alternative is invading and incorporating in the Russia Federation the half of the Ukraine which has a Russian majority. The rest can go to Poland…
“The rest can go to Poland”. ..Which would place half of Ukraine into NATO by default.
In this hypothetical scenario, a “compensation” would be the pre-WW1 territories of Germany ceded to Polandistan should be returned. Gdansk will return to being called Danzig.
Russia can take back the Balts. Not to control, but call in the bulldozers and scrape the whole shitty mess into the Baltic and create a few new islands Chinese-style. That way, these pissant useless mini-me Nazis can serve a useful purpose.
That was not Germany but the state of Preusssen ¨which went big in 1871 after defeating Denmark, France, Austria Hungaria and Poland from 1864.
Most of the northern Polen of today never has had a polish majority. Danzig was included to give the Inland Poland an own harbour.
You should look at maps durring time.
It had many germans, where a lot was jewish/poles speaking jiddish, it had swedes, sorbes, Lituanians and trader colonies.
If You go back in time many relative big tribes lived in the coastland from Rügen and incl. Finland. The big change came by coordinated crusades by Saksens, Danes and Swedes, which partly by force and partly by figting took over and colonized them – or parts of them.
Swedes mainly took Finland and Saksens(germans) most of the rest. Danes were the small one ans traded away most of their parts away(mainly Estonis).
And let me remind You, that there was no Russia there at all as well as Russians. You forget Kiev and Novgorod in Your infected history knowledge. Here You also ignore that Russ is the “russian name” for vikings being important for stability and trade at that time.
You also ignore in Your irony or ignorance, that Communism and facism(here nazism) are antipodes even being based on the same kind of Governess. You also ignore that the Tzarisme was same kind.
So what should we expect from the Balts. First runned over by Russia. The runned over by Nazis killing jews as well and next all balts still alive were killed, deported or went into Gulag for many years.
I have known people both escaped from there and deported ones with split up families for decades. So they are a danger to You. And they provoke You.
Only YOU are the AGRESSORS in that.
Thats the picture I see.
“Only YOU are the AGRESSORS in that.”
Me? How the fuck am “I” an aggressor? I’m not even a Ruskie….
Stoopid Russophobe Euro-clown. Too wrapped up in his fake BS narratives to recognise the reality of the world around him.
They decided themselves, they should not be neocolonies for a colllapsed Empire based on fatal driven communisme of the worst centralised kind.
They learned nothing from WW, where they as the only ones lost it 3 times. And Russia or USSR from Berlin to Vladivostok was far out. One could understand if thay have had succes and made people in it happy. I dont see that.
Russia does not decide that at all.
As soon as Putin and the Russian top stops calling western politicians as “partners/colleagues” the sooner reality kicks in for the Russians.
History shows that Western countries will not stop, until they have the bears scalp.
“History shows that Western countries will not stop”(c) – In fact, history shows that they do stop when Russian army marches in their capitals.
hahaha
Bears scalp? Those limp-wristed fags will die in the attempt, and the bear will dine heartily on their torn carcass.
Russia has to make it clear Ukraine or Georgian membership in NATO will trigger immediate military response from Russia. This is an existential threat to Russia – no mealy-mouthed mincing of words which only encourages the war hawks. Germany will not allow western intervention, or war with Russia, as they would immediately be cut off from oil and gas – basically turning the lights out for German economy and peoples.
Thats the russian very biased version only.
You not even mention, that cloding down for oil and gas says 30% lower income in export. Can they even effort that themselves ? You are right it can be a big player and thats why EU try to produce much more by themselves in electricity and warming up.
Big deal!
“will act”….
A Kalibre strike on Poroshenkos house will suffice as a 1st step.
NATO membership is not a requirement for integration into NATO standards and partnership status. For example:
– “We stated that Ukraine, and Georgia, by the way, will become members of NATO” [NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen]. (NATO officials promised Ukraine eventual membership at a summit in 2008).
– “The Ukrainian armed forces are receiving funds, equipment and training in preparation for eventual NATO membership” (Ukraine a NATO Member in Everything but Name, 16/01/2015)
– “Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatseniuk and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will discuss restoration of the state’s Euro-Atlantic course and [integration of] Ukraine [with] NATO”… “An agenda of the meeting includes [the] interoperability to NATO standards, reformation of defense and security sectors, defense industry and the Armed Forces of Ukraine according to NATO standards, development of interoperability of the Ukrainian army and NATO forces,” (NATO To Discuss Aid To Ukraine For “Hybrid” War With Russia, December 13, 2014)
The intended project of Georgia and Ukraine (including Crimea) integration into the NATO military bloc (an aspect of broader NATO bloc expansion efforts), facilitated by the political engineering of a client government (through a U.S./NATO sponsored coup in Ukraine) had the objective of stationing NATO military forces/missile architecture ever closer to the border of Russia.
In reality, the Cold War never ended, only the format changed. In the ongoing pursuit of global primacy (world domination/’full spectrum dominance’) the U.S./NATO/allied bloc employed deceception successfully to dismantle the Soviet Union and subsequently integrated successive former Soviet states into the still expanding NATO military bloc in violation of former agreements (a project based on the replication of the former Soviet economic/military bloc model but in opposition to Russia). Recognising the staged deployment of missile architecture adjacent to Russian borders, the nature of U.S.-NATO-allied military exercises (including simulating offensive operations against Crimea), the engineering of hostile postures towards Russia and that such adversarial operations are expanding/intensifying, the current situation is likely a relative calm preceding a missile crisis (current U.S.-NATO missile architecture integrating concealed offensive potential [Mk-41 VLS being compatible with Mk-14 W80/nuclear cruise missile launch canisters, with the withdrawal from the INF facilitating open deployment of close proximity fast strike missile systems] ) and an increasingly probable kinetic stage of conflict.
It is also worth noting the logical progression of current developments:
– “the United States and its European allies share most of the responsibility for the [Ukraine] crisis. The taproot of the trouble is NATO enlargement, the central element of a larger strategy to move Ukraine out of Russia’s orbit and integrate it into the West [EU (economic) and NATO (military) bloc]… Since the mid-1990s, Russian leaders have adamantly opposed NATO enlargement…” (Why the Ukraine Crisis Is the West’s Fault, Foreign Affairs, 20/08/2014)
– “The United States, for its part, were interested in forming a pro-Western government in Ukraine. They saw that Russia is on the rise, and were eager not to let it consolidate its position in the post-Soviet space. The success of the pro-Western forces in Ukraine would allow the U.S. to contain Russia. Russia calls the events that took place at the beginning of this year a coup d’etat organized by the United States. And it truly was the most blatant coup in history.” (Stratfor Chief’s “Most Blatant Coup in History” Interview Translated in Full, 20/01/2015)
– “NATO should’ve been buried at the end of the cold war: instead, the NATO-crats went on the offensive – breaching the understanding reached by Western leaders with then Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev – and expanded into most of eastern Europe….. The seeds of World War III are being planted…” (Our Cold War With Russia Could Turn Hot, by Justin Raimondo, September 03, 2014)
The Russian Federation is correct to be taking responsive measures as U.S.-NATO missile architecture (including the development of space-based systems/PGS) is seeking ‘nuclear compellence’ (nuclear blackmail to achieve compliance to demands) through overcoming the restraint of mutually assured destruction (the pursuit of nuclear primacy/fast first strike potential with surviving retaliatory missile interception capabilities).
Very good as well.
Russians dont understand, that we try to help those liberated from the collaps Engels economy to something else.
Something else is improved production for their own living standards as well as they need to be able to sell things we need to buy things they need. Like Russia today most people dont understand western economies. And true western companies has kind of plundred too much, because those countries has no structures to keep theft and corruption down.
Russians hardly can offfer anything, they need. If so they would buy right away, but there has to be money for it too. By that investments are needed.
Well partly copied.
I think, after they join NATO, russia can do nothing. Maybe should prevent this step.
Russians should clean their own ancient closets, but they are not allowed.