Joint West-Ukraine alliance unviable, Turkish journalist says

DONETSK, April 22. /TASS/. The creation of a military bloc including the West and Ukraine is impossible due to the absence of potential participants in it from among the NATO member states, Turkish journalist and Aydinlik newspaper editor Ozgur Altinbas said during a press tour around the Donetsk People’s Republic. On April 15, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that former US special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg promoted the idea of creating a new military bloc led by Ukraine against the backdrop of the US President Donald Trump administration’s refusal to allow Kiev to join NATO. According to the top diplomat, Washington wants to shift the responsibility for containing Russia onto Europe and "untie its hands" in the direction of China. "In my opinion, it's impossible. Right now, there is no solidarity between NATO countries. So, I think the Europeans and the Americans cannot unite with Ukraine," he pointed out. The journalist emphasized that this idea is unpopular with Ukrainians. "We believe there are many people in Ukraine [who are] against this so-called alliance. Because they know [that] the Western countries use the Ukrainian people against Russia. They know more than seven million people have to left their country. So, I don't believe the US and European countries will say to the Ukrainian people, ‘We're going to be together.’ I don't believe it's going to happen like this," Altinbas noted. The journalist is taking part in a press tour of the Donetsk People’s Republic as part of a delegation of reporters, publicists, and social activists from China, Japan, North Macedonia, Ecuador, Congo, and other countries.