Italian Lawmaker Says Bringing Ukraine Into NATO Tantamount To Provocation

Ukraine's admission to NATO will serve as provocation of Russia, as it was promised that the alliance would not expand eastward after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gianluca Ferrara, an Italian upper house lawmaker from the Five Star Movement (M5S) told Sputnik on Friday

ROME (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th January, 2022) Ukraine's admission to NATO will serve as provocation of Russia, as it was promised that the alliance would not expand eastward after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Gianluca Ferrara, an Italian upper house lawmaker from the Five Star Movement (M5S) told Sputnik on Friday.

According to the lawmaker, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev was promised that the military bloc would not move eastward later on.

"I hope that common sense will prevail. I also understand the Russian stance, which sees Ukraine as a buffer state. Ukraine joining the alliance will be provocation and undermine the security situation," Ferrara, who leads the MS5 group in the upper house's foreign affairs commission, said on the sidelines of the election of Italy's new president in the parliament.

While the lawmaker acknowledged Ukraine's right to join the alliance, he noted that in that case Russia will have to face a "hostile attitude in direct proximity to its borders.

"Perhaps this has an element of psychology, but the fact that NATO approaches Russia is a given, while the opposite was promised," Ferrara added.

In December, Moscow published draft agreements between Russia, the United States and NATO on security guarantees. The proposals, if agreed to, would prevent NATO from expanding in Eastern Europe and prohibit the US and Russia from deploying intermediate and shorter-range missiles within striking distance of each other's territory, among other terms.

US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan delivered Washington's response to Russia's security proposals on Wednesday. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday that Russia is reviewing the response but stressed that the United States, in its response to Russia's proposals, left the main question about NATO's non-expansion eastward unanswered.