On Tuesday, Russia called for NATO to revoke its 2008 pledge regarding Ukraine’s potential membership in the alliance, and rejected the notion of NATO forces acting as peacekeepers in any potential ceasefire agreement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asserted that discussions in Saudi Arabia, where he met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, had been productive, with both sides exchanging views.

However, during the meeting, Russia’s foreign ministry emphasized that Moscow’s opposition to Ukraine joining NATO extends beyond a mere temporary suspension of membership. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that a simple postponement of Ukraine’s accession was insufficient. She called on NATO to explicitly renounce the 2008 Bucharest summit commitments, where Ukraine and Georgia were assured eventual membership, albeit without a specific timeline or process.

In Riyadh, Lavrov reiterated Russia’s stance on Ukraine’s NATO membership, emphasizing that such an expansion is a direct threat to Russian sovereignty. He conveyed that President Vladimir Putin’s position had been consistently clear: Ukraine’s absorption into the NATO alliance poses a fundamental security risk to Russia.

Lavrov also rejected British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s suggestion of sending British and possibly other NATO troops to Ukraine as peacekeepers. He argued that the involvement of NATO forces, even if presented under the guise of European Union or national flags, would not change Russia’s opposition to such actions, which he deemed unacceptable.

The 2008 Bucharest declaration, which included promises of NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia, was a compromise between the U.S., which supported their inclusion, and France and Germany, which were concerned about provoking Russia. Russia has repeatedly cited NATO’s post-Soviet expansion and Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as key factors in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

While NATO maintains that it is a defensive alliance with no expansionist agenda, it acknowledges that many of its members have individually provided significant support to Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. Zakharova further suggested that Ukraine should revert to its 1990 declaration of sovereignty, which called for a neutral status, non-participation in military alliances, and the renunciation of nuclear weapons—a stance Ukraine held during the collapse of the Soviet Union. After gaining full independence in 1991, Ukraine agreed to relinquish its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in exchange for assurances of sovereignty and territorial integrity from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K.