MOSCOW, December 12. /TASS/. NATO is increasingly divided over Ukraine’s accession; the conflict between the US and Venezuela intensifies; and the prices of non-ferrous metals keep rising. These stories topped Friday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
Moscow and Washington have reached an understanding on the need to secure Ukraine’s neutrality, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. However, not all NATO members agree with that: the UK is confident that Ukraine’s accession to NATO is inevitable, a parliamentary source told Izvestia. Analysts believe that Kiev’s strategy is to prolong negotiations.
The European Union and NATO have found themselves in a critical situation where they have to make reasonable compromises, Grigory Karasin, head of the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Foreign Affairs Committee, told Izvestia. According to him, Moscow will keep on working to ensure Ukraine’s stable non-bloc status, which will serve as a guarantee from reckless actions.
The US is not ready to allow Ukraine into NATO, both because of the military conflict on the country’s territory and its corruption problems. However, Russia should have no illusions — this is the course that the current Washington administration pursues. The next presidents may well try to adopt the policy of George W. Bush, who sought to drag Kiev into the alliance by hook or by crook, Diplomatic Academy Vice Principal Oleg Karpovich pointed out.
