The collective West can accept Ukraine into the North Atlantic alliance only with Kiev-controlled territories, outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said.
“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 give President Putin every incentive to just find a way to continue (the armed conflict – ed.),” Jens Stoltenberg told the Ukrainian publication Interfax-Ukraine.
According to him, Ukraine’s possible membership in the alliance with only Kiev-controlled territories “may be a way to guarantee that when some kind of agreement is reached between Russia and Ukraine, this will be the end of it”.
Just to remind you, Jens Stoltenberg said earlier that spending 2 percent of GDP on defence in the North Atlantic alliance countries was no longer enough in the current conditions.