NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday rejected Russian demands to rescind a 2008 commitment to Ukraine that the country would one day become a member of the Western military alliance.
"NATO's position when it comes to our relationship with Ukraine remains unchanged, it is a fundamental principle that every nation has the right to choose its own path...including what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.
"NATO's relationship with Ukraine is going to be decided by the 30 NATO allies and Ukraine, no one else. We cannot accept that Russia is trying to re-establish a system where big powers like Russia have spheres of influence, where they can control and decide what other members do."
