Putin has no veto on Ukraine's membership in NATO - Pentagon

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said this at a briefing on Tuesday, February 1, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"It should be up to Ukraine, who they associate with," Kirby said.

He noted that any decision on membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "is going to be a decision between the sovereign state in question and NATO."

"It's not something that Mr. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin gets to have a veto on. It doesn't work like that," Kirby said.

He also noted that Ukraine continues to implement reforms to meet NATO standards, and the United States is helping the country in this process.

In its so-called "proposals" to the United States and NATO on security guarantees in Europe, the Russian side demanded that Ukraine be never allowed to join NATO.

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