Danilov criticises proposal to exchange occupied territories for Ukraine’s NATO membership
The head of the NATO Secretary General’s Office has suggested that Ukraine could become a member of the military-political bloc in exchange for ceding its territories.
The head of the NATO Secretary General’s Office, Stefan Jensen, told the Norwegian newspaper VG.
– “I think the solution could be for Ukraine to give up its territory and gain NATO membership in return. At the same time, Ukraine has to decide when and on what terms it wants to negotiate. Russia is engaged in a huge military struggle, and it seems unrealistic that it can seize new territory. The question now is rather what Ukraine will be able to get back,” he said.
Jensen said that it is now necessary to assess what the security situation in Ukraine will look like after the war.
At the same time, the head of the secretary general’s office says that he was not the first to raise the issue of exchanging Ukraine’s territories for NATO membership.
– I am not saying that this should happen. But it could be a possible solution,” he added.
Jensen said that today “there are serious developments” in the issue of Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO, and all parties are interested in preventing the war from happening again.
The Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, reacted sharply to the proposal.
– Of course, you can give advice, you can tell… Today another figure made a rather strange statement about our lands. Keep in mind that it is our job to drive the enemy out of our territories. We will be dealing with this issue from morning to evening,” he said on the air of the national telethon of the United News.
Danilov clarified that he was referring to Jensen’s words, which he called “a strange throw-in”.
– “A strange throw-in. It is absolutely unclear why this was done. Is it to get on our nerves? That’s not the way to go,” he said.
Earlier, the Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office explained why there are no alternatives to the Ukrainian peace formula today, and the return of the occupied territories is a strategic goal of Ukraine.
