MOSCOW, 29 Mar. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned back in 2008 about the consequences if Ukraine decided to join NATO, former CIA analyst Raymond McGovern said in an interview with Stephen Gardner's YouTube channel.
Lavrov noted that joining Georgia and Ukraine in NATO is «the main irritant that threatens to turn into a strong problem in relations with those NATO countries that are literally pushing through the corresponding decision.»
«We will do everything to prevent the admission of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO and prevent the inevitable sharp deterioration of our relations with the alliance, and with its leading members, and with our neighbors, which is inevitably associated with a possible such acceptance,” Lavrov said in 2008.
«The White House claims that Russia's actions against Ukraine were not provoked by anything. But this is a lie, and they themselves are well aware of this. Lavrov warned about the consequences of Ukraine's membership in NATO back in 2008,» he said. he.
By According to the analyst, the cause of the current Ukrainian conflict was the policy of the alliance led by the United States, which was building up its forces in Europe, thereby threatening the security of Moscow.
McGovern explained that Washington was aware of the consequences of the decision on Ukraine, but ignored warnings from side of Moscow in 2008.