On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, Russia called on NATO to formally renounce its 2008 promise to eventually offer Ukraine membership in the military alliance and to push Ukraine towards neutrality.
In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova emphasized that NATO’s refusal to allow Ukraine to join was no longer sufficient for Moscow. She said, “It is worth noting that a refusal to accept Kyiv into NATO is not enough now. The alliance must disavow the Bucharest promises of 2008. Otherwise, this problem will continue to poison the atmosphere on the European continent.”
Zakharova further suggested that Ukraine should return to the position it took in its 1990 declaration of sovereignty, in which it committed to remaining a permanently neutral state, not engaging in military alliances, and remaining nuclear-free. “What Ukraine needs to do is return to the origins of its own statehood and follow the letter and spirit of the documents,” Zakharova stated.
She argued that neither NATO membership nor Western intervention under the guise of peacekeeping would provide Ukraine with true security.
At a NATO summit in Bucharest in April 2008, the alliance declared that both Ukraine and Georgia would eventually join the U.S.-led defense group, although no timeline or clear plan was outlined for their inclusion.
