The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is no longer bound by obligations to Russia to refrain from deploying its forces in Eastern Europe, NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana said in an interview with AFP, reports BFMTV on Monday, May 30.
Geoana said Sunday that in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is no longer bound by old commitments to Moscow not to deploy its forces in Eastern Europe. The founding act of NATO-Russia relations, signed 25 years ago, provided, among other things, measures aimed at preventing any concentration of conventional military forces, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
"But by attacking Ukraine and interrupting any dialogue with the Alliance, Russia itself annulled the content of this Fundamental Act. The Russians pledged not to attack their neighbors, which they do, and to hold regular consultations with NATO, which they do not do," the NATO Deputy Secretary General emphasized.
According to him, the Fundamental Act simply does not work because of Russia, since the Russian Federation has moved away from the terms of the 1997 agreement: "Now we have no restrictions to have a strong position on the eastern flank and ensure that every square inch of NATO territory is protected by Article 5 and our allies," Geoana said.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on May 18, Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO.
At the same time, in its new strategic document, NATO will designate Russia as an "immediate threat."
In turn, Russia threatens to pull nuclear weapons into the Baltic if Sweden and Finland join NATO.
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