Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia does not have the right to veto Ukraine's accession to NATO, he told reporters in Riga after a meeting with the Foreign Ministers of the Alliance, UNN reports..

The main topic of discussion was the pulling together of troops by Russia to the borders of Ukraine. Stoltenberg once again noted that for Ukraine's entry into NATO, not only compliance with standards is necessary, but also a consensus decision of all participants.

“We reaffirm our decision taken at the Bucharest summit and support Ukraine on the path to NATO membership and its Euro-Atlantic integration.. Ukraine, as an independent, sovereign state, has the right to choose its own path, including the security mechanisms to which it joins. The decision should be made only by Ukraine and the member countries of the Alliance, and Russia does not have any veto right in this matter..

The political message is that Russia has no right to interfere in this process, "

As Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier, NATO's final decision on Ukraine's entry into the Alliance is influenced by the opinion of several countries, which are primarily considering Russia's reaction to this decision..

[see_also].

Russia will pay for the use of force against Ukraine: NATO Secretary General.

[/ see_also].

US Mission to NATO called on Russia to return to a reciprocal and meaningful dialogue with Ukraine.