No one offered Ukraine NATO membership in exchange for territories – government

The Ukrainian government has stated that no one officially approached Kyiv with proposals to exchange the territories occupied by Russia for NATO membership.

Source: Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration, in an interview with Onet, a Polish news outlet, reported by European Pravda

Details: Stefanishyna said that Ukraine was not approached with such a proposal because it would be a sign of weakness.

"We know that such discussions have been and are ongoing. But this is not a topic for discussion with Ukraine," Stefanishyna said.

Answering the question of whether Ukraine could become a NATO member before the victory in the war, she said that this is a constant topic of political dialogue with the Alliance.

Quote: "Of course, this is very difficult to implement during the period of full-scale combat actions on Ukrainian territory. And, of course, there can be no territorial concessions. But, as some American colleagues have told me, such decisions can be made overnight."

More details: She added that it is now important for Ukraine to be ready for this moment, so Kyiv is laying the foundations for this, and it is also considered security conditions that would be sufficient for integration with NATO. 

Background: Earlier, Stefanishyna said that Ukraine did not receive what it wanted at the NATO summit in Vilnius because the leaders of the Alliance did not risk taking too much responsibility. 

Recently, Stefanishyna also said that Ukraine would be ready for EU membership in two years, and even earlier for NATO membership.

Following the NATO summit in Vilnius in summer 2023, the Alliance leaders agreed to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan on Ukraine's path to the Alliance.

At the same time, the Allies made it clear that they would invite Ukraine to join NATO "when the conditions are met".

On the sidelines of that summit, the G7 countries agreed on a framework document on security guarantees for Ukraine. The leaders did not agree on specific parameters of the security guarantees, but on their framework, and specific bilateral agreements will be signed later.

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