"It is evident that there is no such opportunity [to establish a no-fly zone over Ukraine]. Today we can see that many member countries are being skeptical of the matter. The implementation of the decision should follow the decision itself, the making of this decision. In practice, this would mean a large-scale military operation beyond the North Atlantic Alliance's borders. It is difficult to imagine today. It is difficult to imagine that the North Atlantic Alliance would have any legal basis for conducting active actions beyond its borders," the diplomat told Polskie Radio.
He added that this sort of decision is impossible without the consent of all NATO member countries.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky in a video address heavily criticized NATO's reluctance to announce a no-fly zone over Ukraine and refusal to deliver fighter jets to the Ukrainian military.
On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukraine will be considered a direct participation in the conflict.
The United States has repeatedly stressed that a no-fly zone over Ukraine would provoke a direct military confrontation with Russia. On Thursday, White House Spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that "it would require, essentially, the US military shooting down Russian planes and prompting a potential direct war with Russia." On Sunday, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that US President Joe Biden "has been very clear about one thing all along as well, which is we're not going to put the United States in direct conflict with Russia, not have, you know, American planes flying against Russian planes or our soldiers on the ground in Ukraine."
On 24 February, Russia began a special operation to demilitarize and "denazify" Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in countering the aggression of Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it has no plans to occupy Ukraine.