Moscow
\nNATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday rejected Russian calls for Ukraine to be excluded from future membership in the alliance and denounced Moscow\u2019s \u201cprovocative\u201d military build-up.
\nOn Wednesday, Russia handed a list of security demands to US assistant secretary of state Karen Donfried, who then came to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday to discuss them with Stoltenberg.
\nBut the NATO chief on Thursday also met Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky, and gave a joint news conference to insist that any decision on membership was a matter for Kiev and the alliance\u2019s 30 member states.
\n\u201cWe will not compromise on the right of Ukraine to choose its own path. We will not compromise on the right for NATO to protect and defend all NATO allies,\u201d Stoltenberg said. He said there would also be no compromising on NATO\u2019s partnership with Ukraine, describing it as important for both sides.
\n\u201cDemocracies of course have the right to work closely with a close partner such as Ukraine and our relation with Ukraine is defensive,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not in any way a threat to Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Moscow NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday rejected Russian calls for Ukraine to be excluded from future membership in the alliance and denounced Moscow\u2019s \u201cprovocative\u201d military build-up. On Wednesday, Russia handed a list of security demands to US assistant secretary of state Karen Donfried, who then came to NATO headquarters in Brussels on Thursday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-233542","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n