Ukraine joining NATO would mean declaration of war — Medvedev

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said the accession of Ukraine to NATO would be a declaration of war against Moscow and only "prudence" on behalf of the alliance could prevent the planet from being shattered into pieces.

The leaders of the NATO pledged at their summit last week to support Ukraine on an "irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership," but left open when that membership could happen.

Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and a leading voice among the Kremlin's conservatives, told the news outlet Argumenty I Fakty that Ukraine's membership would go beyond a direct threat to Moscow's security.

"This, in essence, would be a declaration of war — albeit with a delay," he said in remarks published on Wednesday.

"The actions that Russia's opponents have been taking against us for years, expanding the alliance ... take NATO to the point of no return."

Medvedev said Russia did not threaten NATO but would respond to the alliance's attempts to advance its interests.

"The more such attempts there are, the harsher our answers will become," Medvedev said. "Whether this will shatter the entire planet into pieces depends solely on the prudence of (NATO) side."

'Nuclear apocalypse'

Medvedev, warned the US and its allies that their arming of Kiev could lead to a "nuclear apocalypse".

The former president also reiterated Moscow's line that the appointment of Mark Rutte as the head of NATO would not change the alliance's stance.

"For Russia, nothing will change since key decisions are made not by NATO member countries but by one state — the United States," Medvedev said.

NATO was created after World War II as a defensive bulwark against a feared Soviet invasion of Western Europe, but its subsequent inclusion of countries in Eastern Europe has been viewed by the Kremlin as an act of aggression.

Ukraine hailed the NATO summit declaration last week, which pledged more military support for Kiev, but stressed the next step should be NATO membership in an undisclosed time span along with lifting restrictions on how to use weapons against Russia.