Several Alliance countries, led by the United States, are however reluctant to make this “monumental decision”, as a diplomat in Brussels described it.
On the program next year
U.S. officials privately acknowledge that such an invitation is unlikely to be issued just weeks before the start of the new Trump presidency. “Such a gesture before the arrival of the new administration would infuriate Trump and he would immediately take the opposite view,” recognizes a European NATO diplomat.
This decision will take time and the subject will only really be raised next year, before the Alliance summit scheduled for the end of June in The Hague, believes another.
But until then, it is essential to think about the guarantees that NATO, or at least some of its members, could give to Ukraine, particularly at a time when the prospect of peace negotiations seems closer, according to this source. . Donald Trump has promised to make peace in Ukraine “in 24 hours” but without really saying how he intends to do it.
European NATO countries fear being left out of a possible negotiation and several of them are looking for ways to secure a place at the table, NATO diplomats explained. .
-Ground troops
And some of these countries do not rule out sending troops to Ukrainian soil, for example to monitor the establishment of a possible ceasefire, these diplomats indicated. However, they immediately point out, this discussion does not take place within NATO, but between European allies. The subject will therefore not be on the agenda on Tuesday or Wednesday, the second day of this ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters.
Reflection is underway in certain European capitals, and the closer the prospect of negotiations gets, the more the discussions will intensify.
Ukraine also intends to strengthen its position on the battlefield before any discussion and intends to request, once again, more weapons and military support from its allies. “Russia does not give gifts. And we can only guarantee peace through force: the force of our weapons, our diplomacy and our cooperation,” urged Mr. Zelensky in kyiv on Monday, alongside German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Missiles hypersoniques
During a NATO meeting last week in Brussels, Ukraine demanded anti-aircraft defense systems capable of protecting it from the new Russian Orechnik ballistic missile launched by Moscow. These systems include the American THAAD or the Arrow system developed by the United States and Israel.
