Zelenskyy's Office sharply reacts to idea of taking Ukraine into NATO without occupied territories
Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak (Getty Images)
Office of the President of Ukraine responds to the statement of the former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Ukraine's accession to the Alliance without its occupied territories, according to the advisor to the head of the Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, and The Guardian.
"I love (sarcasm) the periodic strange proposals on the 'resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.' They still prove that the causes and consequences are not obvious to everyone. Sometimes you can hear strange proposals that Ukraine can easily join NATO... in parts - territories that are not under occupation. These are the 'simple solutions' that always end up costing a lot..." Podolyak wrote.
The former NATO Secretary-General suggested Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance without the temporary Russian-occupied territories.
"The time has come to take the next step and extend an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO. We need a new European security architecture in which Ukraine is in the heart of NATO," Rasmussen stated.
However, Podolyak notes that discussing such a possibility clearly provokes Russia into further escalation.
"Firstly, the discussion itself clearly provokes Russia into further escalation, encouraging it to aggressive war: 'A little more - and Ukraine will give in. Citizens need to be killed, missile attacks need to be launched.' Isn't that obvious? Undoubtedly," he wrote.
Podolyak also added that there are no guarantees that Russia would agree to Ukraine joining NATO.
"Who guarantees that Russia will not continue its expansion after a pause, taking advantage of a fictitious break to strengthen its positions? Finally, who exactly will act as a guarantor of the inviolability... of the so-called demarcation line? Does theory not presuppose practice?" he wrote.
Considering all this, Podolyak notes how the inappropriate are such "strange proposals."
"So why voicing these strange proposals... Instead of finally realizing three fundamental truths: Russia is absolutely incapable of agreement and will try to deceive in any case; Russia in this form will only escalate risks and try to carry out its aggression; only significant military/technological assistance to Ukraine solves the problem of European security and guarantees a return to stable global rules," the official added.
Ukraine-Russia negotiations
Several rounds of talks took place at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, but they are currently on pause. The Ukrainian authorities highlight that Ukraine will not return to the negotiating table until Moscow withdraws its forces.
The Washington Post reported that Ukrainian and Russian delegations were discussing three issues: the exchange of prisoners and the bodies of deceased soldiers, navigation in the Black Sea, and the return of deported Ukrainian children.
Additionally, NBC News, citing American and European officials, stated that the U.S. and the EU had begun private discussions with Ukraine on possible peace talks with Russia. According to reports, these talks included discussions about what Ukraine might have to give up for peace.
On the same day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refuted these messages, emphasizing that no one was pressuring Ukraine in terms of negotiations.
