Finnish President Alexander Stubb has proposed that Ukraine should automatically become a member of NATO if Russia violates a possible ceasefire, echoing a suggestion by a US senator close to US President Donald Trump, Agence France-Presse reported.
Trump, who has ordered a temporary suspension of key US military aid to Kiev, has 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 is refusing to provide the security guarantees requested by Ukraine to dissuade Russia from attacking again, AFP reports.
In an interview with the American television channel 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 to give them de facto NATO membership, which essentially means that when the negotiations are successful and a peace agreement is reached, part of that agreement should state that if Russia violates it, violates the ceasefire or attacks Ukraine again, it automatically becomes a member of NATO,” he said.
“I think that's a strong enough safety net“, Stubb added, referring to the US support that would ensure that a possible agreement would be preserved.
In mid-February, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a supporter of Donald Trump, mentioned the 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 the publication “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 cooperation in the field of defense.
The European summit in Brussels on Thursday will be dedicated to Ukraine and European security issues.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a plan for rearmament of Europe, which should allow it to mobilize nearly 800 billion euros for its defense and provide immediate assistance to Ukraine.