Accepting Russia's "security guarantees" in any form would be humiliating to U.S., NATO - Kuleba

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that neither the United States nor NATO will agree with Russia's demand to halt eastward expansion, as it would be the greatest humiliation since the Alliance's inception.

According to Ukrinform, Kuleba expressed the opinion in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

"I don’t believe the United States or NATO will agree to Russia's demand to halt eastward expansion or withdraw from Central Europe, as Russia demands. Not only is there a demand that NATO not expand, there is also a demand to cease NATO's military presence in NATO member states. I don’t believe in this because to accept such a demand in any form would be the greatest humiliation for the United States and NATO in history since the Alliance was founded," said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy.

Commenting on Russia's latest actions, he noted that in diplomacy there is a term “madman strategy.” It is about showing the opponents that you are just plain crazy, unpredictable, and up for anything, so you need to be approached with special flexibility and gentleness.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy reminded that the Caribbean crisis arose from precisely such a strategy pursued by USSR’s Nikita Khrushchev, adding that "we know how it ended."

"But I wouldn’t delve into Russia's motivation now, because we can't really get into their minds and see a detailed action plan there. They may not have a plan, by the way. Chaotic actions: let's try this and see what happens. They still have the reputation of ‘bad guys,’ they have nothing to lose in this regard… This is about testing, provoking the West – this is their game," said the foreign minister.

At the same time, Kuleba stressed that Ukraine needs to think less about Russia's motivation and care more about its own actions and make sure its partners coordinate their moves with Kyiv.

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