London. February 2. INTERFAX - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday in a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin told him that NATO is a defensive alliance, and all democratic countries have the right to apply for membership in the organization, including Ukraine.
"The Prime Minister stressed that, in accordance with NATO's open door policy, all European democracies have the right to apply for membership in NATO. This right fully applies to Ukraine," the Downing Street representative said in a statement distributed by the British media.
"He also reiterated that NATO is a defensive alliance," the document says.
Johnson also told the Russian president that any further steps by Russia to invade Ukraine would be a "tragic miscalculation."
