According to the former head of the Dutch government, NATO’s response to this situation should be to continue its “unfailing support” for Ukraine. “We are all going to have to do more,” he stressed. “The stronger our military support for Ukraine today, the better our position will be at the negotiating table. And the sooner we can end Russian aggression in Ukraine once and for all.”
The outcome of the war in Ukraine is currently in question, especially in the context of Donald Trump’s imminent rise to power in the United States. In Brussels, it does not appear impossible that Mr. Trump, as American president, will try to bring Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table. In particular, he could threaten to cut military aid to Ukraine if it refuses to cooperate, or threaten Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase the level of this aid.
Ukraine’s closest allies fear that the country will be forced to make too many concessions. Mr. Rutte wishes to put aside this discussion which sows discord. “I will say this very strongly. kyiv does not need new ideas about what a peace process could be. We need to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to be in a strong position when these peace talks will begin. I would say: more military aid and less discussions,” he stressed.
The “only” security guarantee for Ukraine is NATO membership, according to kyiv
Less than two months before Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Ukraine on Tuesday put pressure on NATO countries to be invited to join them, but the foreign ministers of the Alliance, who found in Brussels, should procrastinate.
The “only real” guarantee of security for Ukraine is “full” membership in NATO, Ukrainian diplomacy insisted, as the Alliance’s foreign ministers met on Tuesday in Brussels.
“We are convinced that the only real security guarantee for Ukraine, while serving as a deterrent against further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states, is Ukraine’s full membership in NATO,” Ukrainian diplomacy said in a statement.
Very cautiously, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte simply reiterated the Alliance’s principled position. The process leading to Ukraine’s accession is “irreversible”, he reminded the press, without however mentioning a timetable.
However, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriï Sybiga intends to reiterate this message during a working dinner in Brussels with his 32 NATO colleagues, with no illusions about the chances of being heard this week.
Ukraine wants to approach a possible peace negotiation with Russia from a position of strength and with sufficient security guarantees. And for her, an invitation to join NATO is by far the best guarantee against Russia.
Several Alliance countries, led by the United States, are however reluctant to take this “monumental decision”, as a diplomat in Brussels described it.
U.S. officials privately acknowledge that such an invitation is unlikely to be issued just weeks before the start of the new Trump presidency.
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, estimates a European NATO diplomat.
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. .
The Kremlin, for its part, warned that Ukraine’s membership in NATO would constitute an “unacceptable” threat to Russia. “Such a potential decision is unacceptable for us, because it would constitute a threatening event for us,” the spokesperson for the Russian presidency said during a briefing.
