Stoltenberg Reacts To Scandalous Statement ‘To Give Up Territory And Get NATO Membership In Return’

The Secretary-General announces NATO's official position.

Ukraine alone decides when conditions are right for peace talks with the aggressor country Russia.

The role of NATO is to support Ukraine, and this position of the Alliance remains unchanged. This was stated by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking at a conference in the Norwegian city of Arendal, Reuters reports.

“It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution,” Jens Stoltenberg said.

Earlier, the head of the NATO Secretary General's office, Stian Jensen, suggested that Ukraine could give up some of its territories, but at the same time join the Alliance. At the same time, he emphasized that he only assumes this and does not claim that it will be so.

Ukraine reacted sharply to such statements. In particular, Speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Oleh Mykolenko, said that the idea of giving up territories is totally unacceptable for Ukraine. Adviser to the head of the Presidential Office Mykhailo Podolyak called Jenssen's statement strange.

Subsequently, Stian Jenssen, the Director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General, backed out and said his statement was part of a "broader discussion" about possible scenarios. He called these statements a mistake and added that he should not have said that.

After that, Biden responded to talk about Ukraine's membership in NATO in exchange for territories. Washington's position is that Ukraine will be able to become a member of NATO in the future, but there is no talk of an exchange of Ukrainian territories.