Russian President’s Press Secretary: Ukraine’s accession to NATO will make the situation worse

April 6th local time, Russian President’s Press Secretary Peskov commented on Ukrainian President Zelensky’s statement on joining NATO. Peskov pointed out that Russia is deeply skeptical of Ukraine’s accession to NATO to solve its internal problems. Peskov stressed that this move would further aggravate the situation.

Earlier that day, Ukrainian President Zelensky said after meeting with NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg that the only way to solve the current crisis in eastern Ukraine was to join NATO as soon as possible.

Zelensky called on NATO members to start the process of absorbing Ukraine to NATO as soon as possible. Zelensky also said that NATO’s presence in the Black Sea region would be “a powerful deterrent factor for Russia”.