Give up territory in exchange for NATO membership, Stoltenberg’s chief of staff suggests Ukraine

He said this during a panel discussion in Arendal on August 15, VG reports.

"I believe that the solution for Ukraine could be to give up its territory and gain NATO membership in return," Jenssen said.

At the same time, he said that Ukraine should decide both the time and the terms of any negotiations with Russia.

Asked by VG whether NATO believes that Ukraine should cede land to achieve peace with Russia and future membership in the Alliance, Jenssen noted that the discussion about a possible post-war status is already underway.

"I am not saying that this should be the case. But it could be a possible solution," said Stoltenberg's chief of staff.

What is known about Ukraine's accession to NATO

On July 11-12, a summit of NATO leaders took place in Vilnius. The meetings were held at the level of heads of state and government. The meetings were attended by the leaders of 31 NATO countries, including US President Joe Biden, and delegations from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine and Sweden were invited. In total, more than 2,400 members of 48 foreign delegations arrived in Vilnius, including up to 40 heads of state and 150 other high-ranking government officials. The summit was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On July 11, the NATO summit in Vilnius adopted a package of decisions regarding Ukraine: the Membership Action Plan phase is cancelled, and the country will receive an invitation to join the Alliance after it meets the requirements for accession and subject to the consent of all allies.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy was outraged by the existence of "conditions" for Ukraine to receive an invitation to NATO and said that it looked like "unwillingness to invite our country to the Alliance."

On July 23, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Reznikov suggested that Ukraine could be admitted to NATO in the summer of 2024. At the same time, NATO countries have repeatedly said that Ukraine's accession to the Alliance is impossible until the war with Russia is over.