Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has proposed that NATO Article 5 should also cover Ukraine, without Kiev being an official member of the Alliance. According to her, this would provide “stable, long-lasting and effective security“ compared to deploying troops to maintain the ceasefire, reports News.bg.
“Extending the scope of Ukraine to the same level of protection as NATO countries would be much more effective, although this is different from official membership“, Meloni said in an interview with the Financial Times.
In addition, she categorically ruled out the participation of Italian troops in a possible peacekeeping mission in Ukraine. According to her, the deployment of “European troops, French or British, is the most difficult decision“.
NATO Article 5 states that an attack on one of the member states is considered an attack on the entire Alliance. In such a case, NATO takes the necessary action to defend the attacked country.
On September 30, 2022, Ukraine officially applied for NATO membership. Although the Washington summit in July 2024 confirmed that “Ukraine's future is in NATO“, the White House has increasingly stated that the country's membership is not a realistic scenario in the near future. Some analysts believe that Kiev's refusal to join NATO could be part of possible peace talks with Russia.
At the same time, Finnish President Alexander Stubb stressed that if Russia attacks Ukraine again after peace is concluded, the country should automatically become a member of NATO.
Most European leaders support Ukraine's membership in the Alliance, but some countries, such as Hungary, Slovakia, Germany and the United States, express reservations. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, these countries are the main opponents of NATO enlargement to include Ukraine.