Stoltenberg reaffirms NATO’s open-door policy

NATO Allies will respect the right of any European nation to choose its own path, including its own security arrangements.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at an urgent press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, January 26, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"What we have made clear is that we will not compromise on some core principles. And one of them is, of course, that every nation has the right to choose its own path. So NATO respects a country or a nation when they decide to apply for NATO membership, as for instance, Ukraine, or when they decide to not apply for a NATO membership as Finland and Sweden have done. So, this is about respecting the right to self-determination," Stoltenberg said.

He recalled that decisions on membership would have to be made by consensus among the 30 allies and the aspirant country. This is a fundamental principle, which is reflected in NATO's position passed to the Russian side on Wednesday.

"We are standing by the core principles on which European security has been based for many years, for decades… [w]e respect the sovereign right of every nation to choose what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of, or [doesn't] want to be a part of. And that's the reason why we, of course, respect decisions by Georgia and Ukraine to apply for membership and also, the reason why we have engaged in a very strong and close partnership with both these countries," the secretary General noted, adding that NATO's focus now is on the reforms, to help these nations to modernize and strengthen the defense and security institutions, and to meet NATO standards."

He recalled that Russia had many times subscribed to the principle of respect for the sovereign decisions of other nations – when it signed the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, the Paris Charter of 1990, and many other documents where this principle has been clearly stated.

On January 26, the United States and NATO provided Russia with their written responses to Moscow's proposals for "security guarantees."

In December 2021, the Russian Federation made public its "security guarantees" proposals in the form of draft treaties with the United States and NATO, which contain ultimate demands to reduce the Alliance's activity and abandon the open-door policy, in particular as regards Ukraine and Georgia.

Intensive diplomatic contacts with Russia, the United States, NATO, and the OSCE have been underway over the past week.