BRUSSELS: Less than two months before Donald Trump returns to the White House, Ukraine on Tuesday put pressure on NATO countries to invite him to join them, but the foreign ministers of the Alliance, who meet in Brussels, should procrastinate.
The “only real” security guarantee for Ukraine is “full” membership in NATO, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry recalled on Tuesday. This accession would constitute an “unacceptable” threat to Russia, retorted the Kremlin.
Very cautiously, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg 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.
The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andriï Sybiga, however, intends to reiterate this message during a working dinner in Brussels with his 32 NATO counterparts, 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. “The only effective guarantee of security is Ukraine's membership in NATO,” assured Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna on this subject.
Several Alliance countries, led by the United States, are however reluctant to make this “monumental decision”, as a diplomat in Brussels described it.
“Such a gesture before the arrival of the new administration would infuriate Trump and he would immediately take a stand,” recognizes a European NATO diplomat.
“I think that joining NATO would once again reinforce tension and the possibility of new conflicts tomorrow,” said Luxembourg Minister of Foreign Affairs, Xavier Bettel.
But, underlines a NATO diplomat, this should not prevent us from thinking about the guarantees that the Atlantic Alliance, or at least some of its members, could give to Ukraine, particularly at a time when the prospect of peace negotiations seems closer.
Donald Trump promised to make peace in Ukraine “in 24 hours”, without however specifying how he intended to go about 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 said .
“The front is moving from east to west. »
And some of these countries do not rule out sending troops to Ukrainian soil 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, nor on Wednesday, the second day of this ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters.
“The meeting will focus on how to ensure that Ukraine, when it decides to start negotiations, does so from a position of strength,” Rutte assured Tuesday.
Indeed, he stressed, “the front is moving from east to west, and not from west to east”. The Russian army again claimed on Tuesday the conquest of two villages in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk (east) and Zaporizhia (south), where its troops, more numerous than those of kyiv, are on the offensive and gaining ground on the entire front at a speed not seen since March 2022.
kyiv is insistently demanding weapons, and in particular at least 20 new anti-aircraft defense systems, to counter Russian missiles which are destroying its energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian minister recalled in Brussels on Tuesday.
Washington announced on Monday additional military aid for Ukraine, amounting to $725 million, including missiles and anti-personnel mines, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
But, “we must do more,” Mr. Rutte insisted on Tuesday.
