NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia is not entitled to prevent a sovereign country from joining NATO.
In Stoltenberg's words, Georgia and the alliance only have to decide whether the country becomes a NATO member, and Russia cannot hinder Georgia from joining the alliance. "The violation of Georgia's territorial integrity by Russia is unacceptable. The same applies to Ukraine: illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilization of Donbas infringes the fundamental principles which are the basis of a peaceful and stable world," Jens Stoltenberg said at the virtual conference of the International Relations Institute of Paris.