The chief of staff of the NATO Secretary General, Stian Jenssen, suggested that Ukraine may cede territory to Russia in order to join the military alliance. Although he emphasized that such a decision should be made by Kyiv alone, Ukraine reacted violently to such an idea, calling the proposal “unacceptable” and “ridiculous”, reports Sky News and “Ukrainian Pravda”.

Stian Jenssen, who serves as the NATO Secretary General’s chief of staff, spoke to Norwegian media today about the issue, although his boss, Jens Stoltenberg, carefully avoided questions about what Ukraine could do to end the war, Sky News notes.

His position was consistent, namely that it is Ukraine, and not third parties, who decide how and when to start negotiations with Russia.

But while Mr. Jenssen echoed that line, he hinted that Ukraine could indeed have a path to NATO.

• “There is significant movement in the issue of Ukraine’s future membership in NATO,” he said. “It is in everyone’s interest that the war does not happen again. Russia is waging a huge military struggle, and it seems unrealistic that it will be able to seize new territories.”
• “Now the bigger question is what Ukraine manages to return,” he added.

When asked by the Norwegian tabloid VG whether Ukraine should cede land to achieve peace and receive NATO membership in exchange, Jensen suggested that the issue had already been raised within the alliance.

• “I’m not saying it has to be that way,” he said. “But it could be a possible solution.”

But this decision would directly contradict the peaceful goals of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

One of the 10 points of his so-called peace formula provides for the restoration of Ukraine’s borders where they were before the invasion. The President of Ukraine made it clear that this is not up for discussion.

In Ukraine, there is a violent reaction to the proposal of the National Committee

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelensky, rejected Jenssen’s proposal for the X platform (formerly known as Twitter), calling it “ridiculous.”

• “This means a conscious choice to defeat democracy, encourage a global criminal, preserve the Russian regime, destroy international law and pass the war to another generation,” he wrote online.
• “It is clear that if Putin does not suffer a crushing defeat, the political regime in Russia does not change and the war criminals are not punished, the war will definitely return with Russia’s appetite for more,” he added.
• “Attempts to preserve world order and establish a “bad peace” through, let’s be honest, Putin’s triumph will not bring peace to the world, but will bring dishonor and war.”