At a panel discussion, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s Chief of Staff Stian Jenssen announces a proposed solution to the situation in the Ukraine conflict, according to the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang.
According to Jenssen, he said that a possible solution could be considered in which Ukraine would give up territory in exchange for membership in NATO as the German news website n-tv.de announced. He reiterated, in line with the previous position of NATO leaders, that Ukraine has the right to decide when and under what conditions to conduct negotiations.
Nevertheless, this proposal represents a departure from the previous stance at the top of NATO. “Land grabbing is illegal and illegitimate,” Stoltenberg himself had said as recently as last September in reference to Russian annexations in Ukraine. NATO allies “do not recognize these territories as part of Russia and will not do so in the future.”
