The admission of Ukraine into NATO could lead to World War III, the former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said
Medvedev was Russia’s head of state between 2008 and 2012 and now serves as the deputy chairman of the country’s Security Council.
Over the course of the war in Ukraine started by Putin, Medvedev has ramped up his fiery social media rhetoric, which frequently includes threats about Moscow’s nuclear weapons capabilities as he frames the conflict as a proxy battle between Russia and NATO.
While it is not clear to what extent his views reflect current Kremlin thinking, he reiterated this anti-Western sentiment during an interview with Russian propaganda channel RT in which he referred to the former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who died in November 2023.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is seen in Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2024. He has warned of “World War III” should Ukraine join NATO.
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“Shortly before his death, already at a very mature age, he (Kissinger) as if with some regret suggested that now we have no choice but to accept Ukraine into NATO,” Medvedev told RT, according to state news agency Tass.
“I think that he was still mistaken in this,” he said. “There is no such predetermination. Because, choosing between some promises and the possibility of starting a third world war—the choice is still quite obvious.”
Newsweek has contacted NATO for comment.
Ukraine’s long-held goal of NATO membership was among the objectives in the Victory Plan that Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky unveiled during a visit to the U.S. in September.
Kyiv’s ambassador to the alliance Nataliia Galibarenko said in October that the Ukrainian government would like a formal invitation to join the alliance before President Joe Biden leaves office in January.
Along with claims of alliance encroachment on Russia, Moscow often refers to the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO to justify its actions. Kyiv says it needs to join NATO to resist any future Russian aggression.
Of growing concern for NATO is the presence of North Korean troops in Ukraine which was confirmed by the alliance’s Secretary General Mark Rutte, who described the deployment as “a significant escalation.”
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has said NATO member states must respond to Pyongyang’s involvement by providing Ukraine with “all it needs” for victory, including long-range missiles, permission to strike military targets in Russia and increased military assistance to Kyiv.
The U.S., Ukraine’s biggest contributor of weapons, has prohibited its arms being used to strike deep inside Russian territory for fear of the kind of escalation that Medvedev and Kremlin propagandists have threatened.
