NATO does not discuss Ukraine's membership in exchange for giving up occupied territories - Head of Mission

This was assured by the head of Ukraine's mission to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

"There are no such discussions at the headquarters. We have spoken to various delegations, who confirmed that there is no such discussion even at informal levels," she told reporters in Brussels.

As a reminder, on 15 August, NATO Secretary General's Chief of Staff Stefan Jenssen suggested that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance in the event of territorial concessions to the Russian Federation.

Commenting on this statement, Galibarenko said: "At some forums where experts and NGOs gather, I have heard statements that Ukraine should take into account the experience of Germany, which joined NATO in parts. But these are informal discussions that test the ground: they want to see what the reaction to certain proposals will be. Here, at NATO Headquarters, there is no such thing."

At the same time, the headquarters is discussing Ukraine's ability to carry out reforms under martial law.

"Everyone understands how difficult it is. Sometimes our partners even admit that they demand too much from us, because we are being asked to meet the same requirements as countries in peacetime," Galibarenko said.

Ukraine's path to NATO membership

The NATO summit took place in Vilnius on July 11-12. The meetings were attended by leaders and government officials from various countries. Lithuania hosted the summit for the first time at the LITEXPO congress center. Security was ensured by thousands of military personnel, and the airspace was protected by air defense systems.

Leaders from 31 NATO countries, including US President Joe Biden, participated in the meetings. Delegations from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine, and Sweden were also invited. Over 2,400 members from 48 foreign delegations, including heads of state and government officials, were expected to attend. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was also present.

In particular, on July 11, the NATO summit in Vilnius adopted a package of decisions regarding Ukraine: the Membership Action Plan phase is canceled, and the country will receive an invitation to join the Alliance after fulfilling 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."