You're reading: Russian envoy to NATO: NATO might speed up Ukraine’s accession procedure

MOSCOW - Moscow believes the procedure of Ukraine's accession to NATO might be sped up, Russian envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko said on Dec. 26.

“As concerns Ukraine’s accession to NATO, the matter is not about how
long this process is going to be. We perfectly know that NATO has
certain criteria that need to be complied with, which includes the
absence of internal conflicts or any territorial disputes with
neighbors,” Grushko said during a video link with Moscow on Friday.

“However, we also know that, if NATO makes a political decision, the procedure may be sped up,” he said.

It is also quite possible that NATO forces might be deployed on Ukrainian territory, he said.

“As concerns the possibility of the deployment of foreign troops [on
Ukrainian territory], we know that such a possibility does exist,” he
said.

“We know that, after we witnessed tragic events on Ukrainian
territory, Ukraine has conducted a number of exercises together with the
alliance, in which foreign weapons and servicemen were engaged,”
Grushko said.