NATO leaders are discussing ways to ensure Ukraine is not attacked again by Russia after the war ends, but are concerned about doing anything that could draw NATO into a wider conflict, the head of the military alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Monday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants “security guarantees” from the 31st alliance to prevent any future attack by Russia after its eastern neighbor already illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Under these conditions, NATO members are analyzing what can be done to avoid a repeat of the war, the head of the Alliance said, News.ro reports with reference to the Associated Press.

“Consultations are ongoing” ahead of the NATO summit to be held in Lithuania on July 11-12, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during an interview with his predecessor Anders Fogh Rasmussen at a conference in Copenhagen.

Stoltenberg refused to provide details of these discussions.

NATO allies benefit from the guarantee of collective security – the so-called 5th article of the Washington Treaty, which provides that an attack on one of them will be considered an attack on all.

Last year, after Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO, the United States, Britain, France and Germany pledged to provide security guarantees to the two countries until they actually join, if needed to deter President Vladimir Putin from trying to destabilize the two northern neighbors. of Russia

Meanwhile, Finland has joined NATO and enjoys Article 5 protection, but Sweden’s accession is still pending ratification by Turkey and Hungary.

“We must prevent history from repeating itself”

“We don’t know how this war will end, but we do know that when it does, it is extremely important that we can prevent history from repeating itself,” Jens Stoltenberg said. In addition to the annexation of Crimea, he also mentioned Russia’s 2008 conflict with Georgia, saying “it has to stop.”

“The only way to make sure this stops is to make sure, in part, that Ukraine has the military power to deter and defend against further Russian aggression, and to find some frameworks to prevent President Putin from continuing to undermine European politics. of security,” explained Stoltenberg. But, he clarified, “if NATO allies – and especially, of course, the big ones – start issuing bilateral security guarantees for Ukraine, we are very close to Article 5. So, it is impossible to find an easy solution to these problems “, Stoltenberg noted.

“We cannot talk about accession if Ukraine loses the war”

In February, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appealed to NATO countries to provide Ukraine with long-term security guarantees. He said they are needed to protect Ukraine from future Russian aggression and to protect the system of international rules that helped keep peace after the end of World War II.

NATO, as an alliance, does not supply weapons to Ukraine, although its members do so bilaterally and in smaller groups, and the organization only defends the territory of member countries because it fears being drawn into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia. .

Ukraine has applied to join NATO, but for that to happen, all 31 current members must agree. Most of the Allies are opposed to hosting a country at a time when war is raging.

Stoltenberg said he expected NATO leaders to approve Ukraine’s bid for membership at a summit in July and stressed that the alliance’s doors remained open to European countries wishing to join. But, he emphasized, there is no point in talking about accession if Ukraine loses the war.

“The most important thing is to be very strong in our support for Ukraine so that Ukraine can win,” Stoltenberg concluded.

What Article 5 of the Treaty on NATO provides

• “The parties agree that an armed attack on one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack on all of them, and accordingly agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, exercising the right of individual or collective self-defense, recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, shall support the Party or Parties attacked by taking immediately, individually or jointly with other Parties, any action it deems necessary, including the use of armed forces, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic region
• Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall be immediately reported to the Security Council. These measures shall be terminated after the Security Council has taken measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security,” reads Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, signed on April 4, 1949 by the 12 nations known as the founding members of NATO.

NATO’s collective defense provision has been activated only once, when the United States invoked Article 5 following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

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