The Kremlin Calls the Possible Entry of Ukraine into NATO a "Red Line"

Moscow is closely following Ukraine's efforts to join the alliance Ukraine's NATO membership is a "red line" for Russia, the Kremlin said after US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first summit in Geneva. As Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Russia is concerned about talks that Kiev may eventually be provided with an Action Plan for NATO membership, which will be the first step towards joining the alliance. In an interview with radio station Ekho Moskvy, Peskov noted that Moscow is closely following Ukraine's efforts to join the alliance. "This is what we are watching very closely and what is for us the very red line that our president was talking about," he said. Meanwhile, in a Skype interview U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told the Ukrainian Service of Radio Liberty that the "swift reaction" of the United States and "all of their allies and partners in Europe" to Russia's military buildup near Ukraine's borders showed that Moscow "confronts a united front of democratic nations demanding civilized behavior vis-a-vis Ukraine." "And that gives us a certain strength." Nuland stressed that the United States remains "firmly committed" to "the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine," and said that the sanctions imposed by Washington in response to Moscow's actions in that country "will remain in effect until Russia changes its behavior towards Ukraine".