Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine could become a member of the alliance even if not all of its territories are liberated from Russian occupation. He said this in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper, quoted by the Ukrainian news agency UNIAN.
Stoltenberg believes that there are ways to resolve the issue of implementing Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on Collective Security if Ukraine becomes a member of the Alliance with the occupied territories.
"There are ways to solve this problem," he said, noting that there may be a line that is not necessarily an internationally recognized border. "Again, it's always very dangerous to compare, because no parallel is 100 percent accurate, but the United States has given security guarantees to Japan that do not apply to the Kuril Islands, which Japan considers Japanese territory controlled by Russia. ", explained the former Secretary General.
He also mentioned West Germany, which viewed East Germany as part of greater Germany. "They didn't have an embassy in East Berlin. But NATO, of course, only defended West Germany. When there is a will, there are ways to find a solution. But you need a line defining where Article 5 applies and Ukraine must control all the territory up to those borders," Stoltenberg added.
In the interview, he hinted that Ukraine could be forced to give up territories it lost in the conflict with Russia, TASS reported. "Finland fought bravely against the Soviet Union in 1939. The Finns did much more damage to the Red Army than was expected of them. The war ended with them losing 10% of their territory. But they got a secure border," Stoltenberg said in response to a question about what he would offer Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky if peace talks between Moscow and Kiev were to take place.
According to the former alliance head, progress in that direction is possible after the US presidential election in November. "After the elections there may be a new impulse, a new attempt to stir up the situation, but I don't think it will be a question of raising a white flag and giving up. It could be an attempt to change the situation on the battlefield , while providing movement at the negotiating table. However, it remains to create conditions where they can come to the negotiating table with the Russians and get something acceptable...something that will allow them to remain an independent state," the Norwegian politician said. | BGNES
