Russia's Foreign Ministry would not be happy with even "partial" accession of Ukraine to NATO

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that Russia will not tolerate Ukraine joining NATO, even if it is a "partial" participation in the Alliance.

Source: Kremlin-aligned media outlet TASS, citing Zakharova, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Zakharova was commenting on remarks made by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who proposed the idea of "partial membership" of NATO for Ukraine.

Quote from Zakharova: "We are constantly clarifying our position regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO... In parts or without any parts, in any form whatsoever, Ukraine's accession to the Atlantic bloc is unacceptable for Russia."

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Secretary General of NATO, proposed that Ukraine should join the alliance, but that Article 5 of the Washington Treaty should not apply to the territories occupied by Russia.

Rasmussen, who served as the NATO Secretary General from 2009 to 2014, insists that the plan for Ukraine's partial membership does not represent a freezing of the conflict, but rather signifies a determination to prevent Russia from obstructing Ukraine's entry into the Alliance. 

"The time has come to take the next step and extend an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO. We need a new European security architecture in which Ukraine is at the heart of NATO," he said.

The former NATO Secretary General said that if Ukraine is told that it cannot be invited to join the Alliance while the full-scale war is being continued by Russia, Vladimir Putin will be given an "excuse to continue the war indefinitely".

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