The future security architecture in Europe after the end of Russia's war against Ukraine will rely on NATO, the European Union and a militarily strong Ukraine. This was stated by Jim Stokes, a senior expert in the program “Future of Security” of GLOBSEC and former director of NATO nuclear policy from 2023 to 2025, in an interview with Ukrinform.
“The security architecture after the end of the war against Ukraine will partly rely on key elements that have long existed in Europe: NATO will remain in its current form, the European Union will play its role, and Ukraine will remain a powerful military force in Europe“, Stokes said.
Ukraine will remain an important military factor
The expert indicated that he did not know whether Ukraine would become a member of NATO, but he personally hoped that this would happen. According to him, however, even in the absence of membership, the country will retain significant military capabilities and will remain a partner of the Alliance.
Stokes starts work at NATO headquarters in February 2022. According to him, the Alliance is strongly committed to the idea of collective support for Ukrainian defense. He welcomes all efforts to end the war, but stressed that its end must be achieved on terms favorable to Ukraine.
Europe must participate in relations with Russia
According to Stokes, European countries will have to decide how to build the future architecture of interaction with Russia. He specified that the issue is not about dividing responsibilities or spheres of influence, but about preventing escalation and direct confrontation between NATO and Russia.
“This should not be an issue that is resolved only between Washington and Moscow“, said Jim Stokes.According to him, the various European countries and institutions must unite to find a way to restore peace and security on the continent, which was violated after 2022.
Stokes believes that the United States has not lost interest in NATO and has not withdrawn from the Alliance despite the political rhetoric. According to him, Washington, including the current US administration, continues to have an interest in Europe not having a conflict, especially a direct clash between Russia and NATO.
Call for a common European position
In a separate position quoted by Ukrinform, Czech President Petr Pavel said that Europe should participate more actively in the negotiations to end the war. He warned that the lack of a common European position limits the continent's influence on future agreements.
Pavel called on European countries to develop a common approach to both ending the war and the future security architecture in order to be a full participant in the diplomatic process.
Sources: ukrinform.ua