NATO has made it clear to the Kremlin that it will not change its ‘open door’ policy.

The British Defense Secretary said today that Ukraine is on a path to NATO membership and that London has made it clear to the Kremlin that the Alliance’s policy regarding the accession of new members will not change.

“We remain an organization with an open door policy,” Ben Wallace told reporters at NATO headquarters.

“I have made it very clear to the Kremlin that countries choose NATO. NATO does not choose countries,” he said.

According to him, the Alliance reacted correctly to the deployment of 150,000 Russian troops on Russia’s border with Ukraine.

“This is a real challenge for Europe ‘s stability,” he said.

For his part, the British Minister of the Armed Forces, James Hippie, said that his country has completed its military exercises in Ukraine and the only remaining British troops in the country are there to protect the ambassador.

Britain has supplied Ukraine with defense weapons and personnel for the training of Ukrainian soldiers.

“Within Ukraine itself, there is a small force that remains to protect the ambassador and her associates. In addition, all our military training activity alongside the Ukrainians has stopped and we have been very clear from the beginning that we do not “There will be no UK involvement in a possible conflict in Ukraine,” Hippie told BBC television.

The West is entering a new era of rivalry with Russia that could last more than a generation, Hippie said.

In an interview with LBC radio and asked if the constant threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine is reminiscent of a return to the Cold War era, Hippie replied: “Whether (Russian President Vladimir Putin) is invading or not, I think we should be clear. that we are entering a new era of intense competition with Russia that could last a generation or more. ”

SOURCE: AMPE