Ukraine could give up territory to Russia in exchange for Nato membership and an end to the war, a senior Nato official suggested on Tuesday, prompting an angry reaction from Kyiv.
Stian Jenssen, chief of staff to Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, said at an event in Norway that while any peace deal would have to be acceptable to Ukraine, alliance members were discussing how the 18-month war might be brought to an end.
“I think that a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory, and get Nato membership in return,” Jenssen told his audience, noting that discussions about Ukraine’s post war status were continuing in diplomatic circles.
Ukraine, however, has consistently called for a restoration of its internationally recognised pre-2014 borders and is engaged in a counteroffensive in an attempt to recapture large parts of its territory seized by Russia.
Jenssen was careful to stress that he was simply airing an idea and that “it must be up to Ukraine to decide when and on what terms they want to negotiate”, reflecting Nato’s position that no peace settlement with Ukraine should be agreed without Ukraine.
But this was not enough for Kyiv, unhappy that the proposition was even being publicly discussed by Jenssen, an important figure and a close ally of Stoltenberg.
Kyiv said any land-for-Nato deal would reward Russian aggression. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said: “Trading territory for a Nato umbrella? It is ridiculous.
“That means deliberately choosing the defeat of democracy, encouraging a global criminal, preserving the Russian regime, destroying international law and passing the war on to other generations.”
Podolyak said that unless Russia suffered a heavy loss in the war, it would continue to pose a long term problem for the west. “If Putin does not suffer a crushing defeat, the political regime in Russia does not change and war criminals are not punished, the war will definitely return with Russia’s appetite for more.”
But Ukraine’s position is being tested by the slow progress of its counteroffensive which began in June. Although Kyiv has received donations of western tanks and long range rockets and artillery, its forces have so far made only limited territorial gains against heavily defended Russia positions.
Nato put out a clarifying statement on Tuesday night aimed at cooling the row. “We will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary, and we are committed to achieving a just and lasting peace. The position of the alliance is clear and has not changed,” a spokesperson said.
However, discussions about how peace might be achieved are unlikely to subside, even as both sides continue to fight on. “I’m not saying it has to be like this. But that could be a possible solution,” Jenssen said.
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