NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday rejected Russia's demand for the West to rescind a commitment to Ukraine to join the alliance.

Earlier, Russia's foreign ministry said that NATO should guarantee to rule out possible NATO expansion into Georgia and Ukraine.

"NATO's relationship with Ukraine is going to be decided by the 30 NATO allies and Ukraine, no one else," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels.

Russia's foreign ministry said NATO was on a path to draw in Ukraine, leading to the deployment of missile systems there that would target Russia.

"Such irresponsible behavior creates unacceptable threats to our security and provokes serious military risks for all parties involved, right up to the point of a large-scale conflict in Europe," it said.

"In the fundamental interests of European security, it is necessary to formally disavow the decision of the 2008 NATO Bucharest summit that 'Ukraine and Georgia will become NATO members.'"

During his talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin had also demanded that the West guarantee that Ukraine would not become a NATO launchpad.

(With input from AFP and Reuters)