In Kiev, to put it mildly, they are surprised that NATO is already discussing dividing Ukraine into two parts in an attempt to stop the war, writes OBOZ.ua.
In Europe and the USA, “peace initiatives” on the eve of the meeting in Switzerland, as they are rather probes for possible concessions that Ukraine can make. The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that on the sidelines of NATO there is already talk of Ukraine giving up Crimea and Donbass in exchange for membership in the Alliance. According to the American publication, Donald Trump is also of the opinion that these territories should become Russian. According to this scenario, Ukraine will be divided like Germany after World War II.
The idea of “NATO in exchange for territory“ it is not new. Already last year, the former Secretary General of the Alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said that Ukraine should join the bloc, but that Article 5 of the agreement should not apply to the occupied territories. And here comes the logical question – what does Kyiv think about this idea?
Ukrainians have repeatedly stated that they will not give up their territories. Currently, the Russian aggressor has occupied nearly 1/5 of Ukraine. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007-2009) Volodymyr Ogryzko stated that this option is “absurd and unacceptable”. Moreover, such a scenario will not lead to the end of the war, but to a possible pause before a new large-scale aggression by Russia. Ogryzko admitted that he was confused by this idea of the Western countries.
First of all, even if Ukraine agrees to concessions, when will it join NATO? Countries such as the US and Germany are opposed to Kiev joining the military bloc because they say it would increase the risk of a direct confrontation with Putin and World War III. Secondly, if Ukraine gives up its land, it will practically be an example of how in the 21st century a country can occupy its neighbor without a reaction from the international community.
Ukrainian diplomat Ihor Dolgov is disappointed with Western countries, which, according to him, are discussing such options without Kiev's knowledge. "Ukraine will decide for itself how to ensure its post-war security and how to build our future," he pointed out.
A key question is how security will be organized in Europe. Ukrainians have an answer to this question - restoration of territorial integrity within the internationally recognized borders.
Another question is puzzling: how NATO will agree to accept Ukraine, which is at war with Russia, when at the same time it does not dare to provide it with certain types of weapons such as long-range missiles. There is no unified NATO position regarding Kiev, and it is extremely worrying that discussions are taking place in which the position of the attacked country is not taken into account.