Last Friday, 14 October, , Vladimir Putin issued a new warning towards the West during a conference in Kazakhstan. He says if NATO troops would clash with Russian ones the outcome would end in a ‘global catastrophe’.
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Ukraine’s NATO membership as a point of contention
Seven months into Russia’s ‘Special Military Operation’ or the Ukraine War, Vladimir Putin has issued a new threat towards the west.
This comes ahead of the expected Ukraine bid for joining NATO on an accelerated path which was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the end of September.
Before the fighting began in February 2022, Russia wanted to prevent a closer relationship between NATO and Ukraine and issued many threats against its formal membership.
Although Ukraine has been receiving invaluable help in military, humanitarian, and financial resources from the west, experts agree that their bid to join NATO will not succeed, citing corruption concerns, Newsweek reports.
A NATO membership for Ukraine would hurdle the military alliance towards a direct collision course with Russia. According to NATO’s Article5, on collective defence, an attack on one member is an attack on all members and would in turn trigger a direct response by the alliance.
'Guaranteed escalation to WWIII'
According to Reuters, Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership is far off due to the fact that the application would have to be unanimously approved by the alliance’s 30 members.
Vladimir Putin expressed his hope that this will not take place.
'In any case, putting troops into direct contact, with the Russian army is a very dangerous step, which might lead to a global catastrophe. I hope that those who speak about it have enough good sense not to take that step,'
In another report, Newsweek cites the view of Alexander Venediktov, the deputy secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, who described Ukraine’s bid to join NATO as a ‘guaranteed escalation to a World War III.’
Sources used:
-Newsweek: ‘Putin Threatens 'Global Catastrophe' if NATO Forces Clash With Russia’
-Reuters: ‘Russian official warns of World War Three if Ukraine joins NATO’
-Newsweek: ‘Russia Outlines the Move That Would Spark World War 3’
-Aljazeera: ‘Global catastrophe’ and other Vladimir Putin quotes of the day'
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