NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO member states will decide whether to admit Ukraine to the alliance while parts of its territory remain occupied, reports Interfax-Ukraine.
Stoltenberg explained that allies must determine "exactly how membership should be applied or work for Ukraine, and we all understand this."
The idea of inviting Ukraine to NATO "in parts" (i.e., with partially occupied territories) was actively discussed last year in the run-up to the Alliance's Vilnius summit. Russia occupies parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The outgoing Secretary General warned against making full territorial control a prerequisite for membership.
"If we say that the only way for Ukraine to become a member is to end the war and have full control over all Ukrainian territory, then we are giving President Putin all the incentives to simply find a way to continue the war," he said.
Stoltenberg emphasized that NATO security guarantees are "a way to ensure a lasting and just peace for Ukraine."
When asked about the possibility of Ukraine joining the alliance with partially occupied territories, he reiterated that "NATO allies decide" but added that this should serve as a guarantee against future Russian aggression.
"Ukraine itself will decide what is acceptable. Of course, NATO allies decide whether Article 5 guarantees can be applied to parts of Ukrainian territory," Stoltenberg said.
Czech President Petr Pavel recently suggested that Ukraine might need to accept Russia's "temporary" control of some of its territories after the war ends.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry criticized this scenario as "temporary solutions that only postpone the war."
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