Oleg Davygora23:58, 04.10.24

He noted that there could be a line that is not necessarily an internationally recognized border.

Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance even if not all of its territories are liberated from Russian occupation. He said this in an interview with the Financial Times.

Stoltenberg believes that there are ways to resolve the issue of invoking Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on Collective Security if Ukraine becomes a member of the Alliance with occupied territories. Stoltenberg said:

“There are ways to solve this problem.”

He noted that there could be a line that is not necessarily an internationally recognized border.

“Again, it is always very dangerous to compare, because no parallels are 100 percent correct, but the United States has security guarantees for Japan. But they do not extend to the Kuril Islands, which Japan considers Japanese territory controlled by Russia,” the former Secretary General explained.

In addition, he also mentioned West Germany, which viewed East Germany as part of a greater Germany.

“They didn’t have an embassy in East Berlin. But NATO, of course, only protected West Germany. When there is a will, there are ways to find a solution. But you need a line that defines where Article 5 applies, and Ukraine must control all the territory up to that border,” Stoltenberg added.

(c)UNIAN 2024