Commenting on the clause of the proposed peace plan for Ukraine, which prohibits it from joining the bloc, Rutte recalled that at the summit in Washington, the Alliance called Ukraine’s path to NATO “irreversible,” but the United States and several allies are against it “at the present time.”
The alliance must provide Kyiv with guarantees comparable to membership in terms of security, he believes.
“If you look at the peace plan and want to ensure that [нелегитимный президент РФ Владимир] “Putin will never try to attack Ukraine again, then if NATO membership is not an option, we must at least provide security guarantees strong enough to ensure that the Russian Federation never tries to do this again,” Rutte said.
According to him, to accomplish this task, three issues need to be resolved: to preserve the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so that the Coalition of the Willing, led by Great Britain and France, decides on the format of participation, and the United States decides “what they can offer.”
“This discussion continues,” concluded the NATO Secretary General.
