MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - NATO's aspiration to expand at the expense of Ukraine was the underlying reason for the decision to add Crimea to Russia, said Alexei Pushkov, who chairs the State Duma International Affairs Committee.
"Putin outlined the underlying geopolitical reason for the decision on Crimea: the line towards the inclusion of Ukraine by NATO and the prospect of squeezing Russia out of Sevastopol," Pushkov wrote on Twitter.