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European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that the West made a mistake by offering NATO membership to Ukraine, Sputnik news agency has reported.
"I am ready to admit that we have made a number of mistakes and that we have lost the opportunity of Russia's rapprochement with the West … There are moments that we could have done better, there are things that we proposed and then could not implement, such as the promise that Ukraine and Georgia would become part of NATO …I think it's a mistake to make promises you can't deliver," Borrell told the TF1 broadcaster.
In December, Russia had asked NATO not to include Ukraine and Belgium in their military alliance, adding that their inclusion would pose a threat to its security.
In fact, many believed that Russia launched an all-out attack against Ukraine because President Zelensky wanted to be a part of NATO.
Putin justified his invasion of Ukraine by stating that Russia’s goal was is that Ukraine is freed from oppression and "cleansed of the Nazis".
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, has lost interest in the alliance. According to him, this happened after realizing that the organization was not ready to accept them.
"Regarding NATO, I have cooled down regarding this question long ago after we understood that NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine," Zelenskytold ABC Newsin an exclusive interview that aired Monday night.
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Zelensky added: "The alliance is afraid of controversial things and confrontation withRussia. I never wanted to be a country which is begging something on its knees. We are not going to be that country, and I don't want to be that president."
(With inputs from agencies)