Zelensky suggests war could end if unoccupied Ukraine comes under Nato
President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed that the parts of Ukraine under his control should be placed “under the NATO umbrella” to help end the “hot phase” of the war.
In an extensive interview with Sky News, the Ukrainian president was asked whether he would accept NATO membership for the territory Kyiv currently holds. Zelensky replied affirmatively, but emphasized that such membership would only be acceptable if it was first offered to all of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.
He suggested that Ukraine could then pursue diplomatic efforts to regain the territory under Russian control. However, this idea remains purely theoretical, as Zelensky pointed out that no such offer has been made yet.
He added that NATO has never formally proposed such an arrangement to Ukraine.
Nato would need to offer membership to the whole country, including those parts currently under Russian control, he said.
“You can’t give [an] invitation to just one part of a country,” the president said, according to a translation provided by Sky News. “Why? Because thus, you would recognise that Ukraine is only that territory of Ukraine, and the other one is Russia.”
Lots of people were proposing ceasefires, he said, but without a mechanism to prevent Russia from attacking again, ceasefires were simply too dangerous.
Only NATO membership, he said, could offer that kind of guarantee.
The Ukrainian president has already said that he thinks the war could end in the coming year if Ukraine’s allies show sufficient resolve.
Reports suggest that discussion of the so-called West German model (Nato membership offered to a divided country) has been going on in Western circles for more than a year.
But no formal proposals have yet been made.
It is also worth noting that so far Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has given absolutely no indication that he’s abandoned his desire to subjugate Ukraine entirely.
The idea that he would be willing to allow any part of Ukraine to join Nato is, for now, unthinkable.
All the indications so far suggest that any involvement of Nato is a complete non-starter.
