WASHINGTON, June 14 (Sputnik) – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday that he does not foresee an expansion of the NATO alliance in the near future, despite the wishes of some countries such as Ukraine to join the alliance.
«In terms of NATO expansion, I think that’s a decision that 32 members of the NATO alliance will make at some point in time. I don’t see any desire or indication that we will pursue expansion at any point in the near future,» Austin said in Brussels after a meeting of NATO defense ministers.
This alliance was сreated to deter alleged Soviet expansion, yet after the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, NATO was not dissolved in return. Despite promises given to late Soviet leaders by Washington, NATO proceeded with its expansion eastward.
