Russia insists on fulfillment of NATO’s promises not to expand NATO eastwards — Putin

Moscow emphasizes the importance of honoring commitments made publicly in the 1990s not to expand the North Atlantic Alliance eastward, President Vladimir Putin stated in an interview with India Today television.

"We are not asking for anything unusual or unexpected, a bolt from the blue. We simply demand that the promises already made to us be fulfilled. They weren’t invented yesterday; they were given to Russia back in the 1990s. No eastward expansion of NATO - this was publicly stated," Putin emphasized.

The president pointed out that since then, multiple waves of NATO’s expansion have taken place, culminating in efforts to include Ukraine in the alliance. "This doesn’t suit us at all and poses a serious threat to Russia. Let’s remember that NATO is a military-political alliance, and Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - which states that an armed conflict with one NATO member is considered a conflict with all - has not been repealed. This is a threat to us. No one takes our security concerns seriously," he explained.

Finally, Putin reflected on Ukraine’s independence, recalling that the first document ratified was the Declaration of State Sovereignty and Independence of Ukraine. "It forms the foundation of Ukrainian sovereignty and modern statehood. It clearly states that Ukraine is a neutral state," he concluded. [TASS]