Former NATO secretary general believes Ukraine should temporarily cede territory to end war
Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg believes that territorial concessions from Ukraine to Russia are acceptable to end the war.
Source: Stoltenberg in an interview with Table.Briefings, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Nevertheless, Stoltenberg stressed the importance of Ukraine receiving security guarantees in exchange for temporary territorial concessions.
This could be NATO membership, but there are "other ways to arm and support Ukrainians", he added.
"If the ceasefire line means that Russia continues to control all the occupied territories, this does not mean that Ukraine has to give up the territory forever," Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg supported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement about refusing to make concessions to Russia in the event of a ceasefire, but he believes this is unlikely at the moment due to the situation on the battlefield.
"We need a ceasefire line, and of course ideally it should cover all the territories currently controlled by Russia. But we see that this is not entirely realistic in the near future," he said.
Background:
- This week, for the first time, Zelenskyy acknowledged the possibility of Ukraine signing a "ceasefire agreement" if the Ukrainian-controlled territory is brought "under the NATO umbrella".
- Ukrainian officials had previously acknowledged that the Alliance would not extend an accession invitation until after the war, and said that such accession would take place within internationally recognised borders.
Support UP or become our patron!
