As I said, theory aside, like them or not, zones of influence and spheres of influence are real. The Ukrainians live in one, and we live in one. As I said, the Ukrainians have about as much freedom—of course, they are free to do it, but there are consequences—to undermine Russia's security as we do to undermine Washington's, and we would not dream of undermining Washington's.
Remember how quickly we sprang to the need to make sure that the border of the entire continent was secure in order not to ever give anyone in Washington the notion that Canada was in some way going to undermine its security? Well, seen from Moscow, the notion that Ukraine is going to undermine their security by joining NATO, which, as I said, is not a knitting club, is simply unacceptable.