OREANDA-NEWS. Russia is categorically against Ukraine's entry into NATO. This was announced on December 14 on the air of the Russia 24 TV channel by the country's ambassador to Great Britain, Andrei Kelin.

“The fact is that in principle we are not heard in the West, they are not heard in NATO,” the high-ranking diplomat said.

He added that Moscow will retaliate if NATO accepts Ukraine as a member state of the alliance.

According to him, Russia and NATO are currently in parallel information spaces. The ambassador noted that he does not note either readiness to listen to each other, or readiness to accept arguments.

Earlier that day, he noted that the countries of Eastern Europe will work to ensure that there is no security talk with Russia. According to Kelin, the UK will likewise take "one of the most extreme positions."

Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during a conversation with US President Joe Biden, spoke about the need for clear legal guarantees from NATO states not to deploy strike weapons near the borders of the Russian Federation and, in general, not to deploy the alliance's infrastructure near Russian territories, Kelin recalled.

On December 13, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov indicated that if NATO countries do not respond to Russia's demand for security guarantees, this will lead to a new round of confrontation. He clarified that Moscow fears the deployment in Europe of weapons prohibited by the INF Treaty (Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles).

On December 8, Biden announced that the US and NATO would study the possibility of providing security guarantees to Russia. He expressed readiness to discuss the topic of concern that the Russian side is talking about regarding the expansion of the alliance.

On October 17, the Pentagon announced the readiness of the United States to admit Georgia and Ukraine to NATO. To do this, the two countries will have to make the necessary changes for membership in the alliance.