Ukrainian president's advisor criticizes ex-NATO head's proposal for alliance membership without occupied territories
Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen proposed to join Ukraine in the North Atlantic Alliance without the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
He said this in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian.
"It is time to take the next step and invite Ukraine to NATO. We need a new European security architecture in which Ukraine is at the center of NATO," Rasmussen said.
At the same time, the former Secretary General of NATO proposes Ukraine's accession to the Alliance without the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
He believes such a plan for Ukraine's membership in NATO "would not symbolize the freezing of the conflict with the Russian Federation, but instead would mean a determination to warn Russia that it cannot prevent Ukraine from joining the Alliance."
Rasmussen suggests that if the territories temporarily occupied by Russia are excluded from Ukrainian membership in NATO, "the threat of a conflict between Russia and NATO will be reduced."
"The absolute authority of the guarantees of Article 5 (NATO – ed.) would deter Russia from intensifying attacks on Ukrainian territory within the framework of (membership – ed.) Thus, NATO would free Ukrainian forces to go to the front line. To make Article 5 authoritative, Russia must receive a clear message that NATO will respond to any encroachment on the territory of the Alliance," he said.
The ex-general also listed three main reasons why Ukraine should be offered NATO membership: first, Ukraine in NATO would act as a "bulwark against the still aggressive Russia."
"We must realize that gray areas are dangerous. Neutrality in the old sense of the world no longer exists. Gray areas become a temptation for Putin to attack," – according to him, this is the second reason.
After all, he claims that the Ukrainian army is currently the most hardened army in Europe and will be an advantage and an example for other European states.
The Office of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, responded to the statement of former NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the head of the Office of the Presient of Ukraine, wrote on Telegram.
"I adore (sarcasm) the periodic strange proposals regarding the "resolution of the conflict in Ukraine." They still prove that the causes and consequences are not obvious to everyone. Yes, sometimes you can hear strange proposals that Ukraine can supposedly easily join NATO… in parts – territories that are not under occupation. These are already "simple solutions" that always end up very expensive…"
Podoliak said that the talk about it clearly provokes Russia to escalate further.
"First of all, the very talk of such a possibility clearly provokes Russia to further escalation, encourages it to an aggressive war: "A little more – and Ukraine will break. It is necessary to kill the citizens, to attack with rockets." This is obvious? Undeniably," the advisor emphasized.
Podoliak also noted that there are no guarantees that Russia will want to agree to "Ukraine in NATO."
"Who will guarantee that the Russian Federation will not continue its expansion after the pause, taking advantage of a fictitious break to strengthen its positions? Finally, who exactly will act as a guarantor of the inviolability of… the conditional line of demarcation? Doesn't theory predict practice?" he wrote.
Given all this, Podoliak emphasized the inappropriateness of such "amazing" proposals.
"Then why voice these amazing proposals… Instead of finally realizing three basic truths: the Russian Federation is absolutely non-negotiable and will try to deceive in any case; the Russian Federation in this form will only scale the risks and try to implement its aggressions; only significant "military/technological assistance "Ukraine solves the problem of European security and guarantees a return to stable global rules…" – emphasized the adviser to the head of the Office of the President.
