Finnish President Alexander Stubb has proposed that Ukraine should automatically become a member of NATO if Russia violates a possible ceasefire, repeating a proposal by a US senator close to US President Donald Trump, Agence France-Presse reported, BTA reported.
Trump, who ordered a temporary suspension of key US military aid to Kiev, ruled out the idea of Ukraine joining NATO - a red line for Moscow.
The US president wants to end the war as quickly as possible, but refuses to provide the security guarantees requested by Ukraine to dissuade Russia from attacking again, AFP reports. In an interview with the American television network CNN last night, Finnish President Alexander Stubb suggested that Ukraine should automatically become a member of NATO if Moscow violates the ceasefire agreement.
“Why not give them de facto membership in NATO, which essentially means that when the negotiations are successful and a peace agreement is reached, part of that agreement states that if Russia violates it, violates the ceasefire or attacks Ukraine again, it automatically becomes a member of NATO“, he said.
“I think that is a strong enough safety net“, Stubb added, referring to the American support that would ensure the preservation of a possible agreement. In mid-February, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of Donald Trump, mentioned this idea on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.
“If we can't get them into NATO right away, my idea [...] is to be very clear: let's tell Putin that if he does it again, if Russia invades Ukraine again, that will automatically lead to Ukraine joining NATO as a red line“, he told Politico.“.
The change in the US president's position towards Russia, marked by his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 12, is forcing Europeans to accelerate the strengthening of their defense cooperation.
The European summit in Brussels on Thursday will be dedicated to Ukraine and European security issues. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has presented a plan to rearm Europe, which should allow it to mobilize nearly 800 billion euros for its defense and provide immediate assistance to Ukraine.