NATO has no interest in settlement in Ukraine: Russian MFA

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The joint statement adopted at the NATO foreign ministers' meeting in Bucharest shows that the alliance has no interest in a political, diplomatic settlement in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing on Wednesday.

"I cannot ignore the statement adopted by the foreign ministers of NATO member countries at their meeting in Bucharest between November 29 and 30. Its wording indicates that NATO is absolutely uninterested in a political and diplomatic solution in Ukraine," she noted.

"NATO countries are trying to accuse the Russian side of criminal acts and atrocities, while in reality these are committed by Ukraine’s armed forces against the backdrop of total connivance by the Western sponsors of the Kiev regime."

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NATO has continued to proceed with the policy that took shape right after the coup d'etat in Ukraine in 2014, a policy of "whitewashing the Kiev regime and, accordingly, demonizing Russia in order to justify the existence of the North Atlantic Alliance," Zakharova said.

Russia has been accused by the NATO countries of disrupting global food supplies, "although it was Moscow that offered real solutions" to this issue.

"The attempt to make Russia responsible for the incident involving a Ukrainian missile that crashed on Poland’s territory looks outrageous," Zakharova added.

It is worth noting that on November 29, Bloomberg reported that the foreign ministers of NATO countries will announce during the meeting in Bucharest that there are no plans for Ukraine's accession into the alliance now, confirming that membership into NATO has never been about enlargement, but clearly about the expansion of the alliance.

The agency quoted sources as saying that the foreign ministers intend to confirm that "while the alliance’s door remains open, now is not the time for Ukraine to join."

A senior European diplomat told Bloomberg that the alliance still lacks consensus on this issue.

The foreign ministers of NATO countries are holding a meeting in Bucharest on November 29 and 30 to discuss the issue of increasing aid to Ukraine in addition to Chinese "challenges".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said before the meeting that the ministers plan to agree on increasing the volume of "non-lethal assistance" to be provided to Kiev, explaining that the talk is about the supply of fuel, medical supplies, and systems designed to combat drones, as well as special assistance that the Ukrainian army needs during the coming winter period.