Dmitry Medvedev comments on NATO's 'curious' suggestion on Ukraine

If Ukraine cedes disputed territories in order to enter the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), the country will also need to cede Kyiv, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev said in his Telegram channel.

He assessed the idea as a whole as "curious" and noted that all territories of present-day Ukraine are disputed. Therefore, in order to get into the NATO bloc, the Ukrainian authorities will have to give up even on Kyiv, the capital of Ancient Rus. In this case, the capital of Ukraine would need to be moved to Lviv, he added. 

Stian Jenssen, the head of the office of the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, earlier said that Ukraine's consent to give up on part of its territories in Russia's favour in exchange for NATO membership could cause the military conflict to end.

“I believe that one of the solutions could be Ukraine giving up the territory and get NATO membership in return,” Jenssen admitted.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg repeatedly refused to discuss any decisions regarding the settlement of the Ukrainian without Kyiv's participation. It is up to Ukraine to "determine the time and conditions for any negotiations with Russia" in order to put an end to hostilities, Stoltenberg said.