Washington. November 15th. INTERFAX - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance is closely monitoring the development of the situation on the border of Russia and Ukraine and is ready to respond to changes in the situation.
"We are closely monitoring the unusual movements of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine," he said on HBO's Axios on HBO program
He noted that the alliance is "alert" and ready "for any development of the situation."
At the same time, the Secretary General acknowledged that Ukraine is disappointed that the earlier promise of the country's accession to the NATO membership action plan "to protect against Russia" has not yet been fulfilled.
Stoltenberg explained that membership can only be achieved if all 30 member countries support it.
In 2008, the leadership of Ukraine requested to join the plan with the prospect of admission to NATO, but at the Bucharest summit of the alliance, due to the position of Germany and France, it was refused. Nevertheless, after that, the then Secretary General of NATO, Yap de Hop Scheffer, said that Ukraine would eventually become a full member of the alliance.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said in an interview with ABC News that Russia may be seeking to "move further" into Ukraine.
According to him, this is evidenced by the concentration of troops and equipment by Russia on the border with Ukraine.
Bloomberg also reported last week that "the United States, together with its European Union allies, are raising the alarm that Russia may be weighing a potential invasion of Ukraine."
The report said that "Washington is closely monitoring the build-up of Russian troops near the border with Ukraine, US officials have informed their EU colleagues of their concerns about a possible military operation."
