NATO’s ARENDAL (VG) insists it is Ukraine even if it sets out the conditions for any peace negotiations with Russia, and when the time is right. Chief of Staff Stian Jenssen has now changed his statement about handing over territory to Russia in exchange for NATO membership.

– My statement about this is part of a larger discussion about possible future scenarios in Ukraine, and I shouldn’t put it that way. It was a mistake, Jenssen told VG on Wednesday morning.

He is Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s chief of staff at NATO.

On Tuesdays, he takes part in debates during Arendal Week. There he made a statement, referenced in VG on Tuesday, which caused a huge stir also in Moscow and in Kiev:

“I think the solution is for Ukraine to give up its territory, and get NATO membership instead,” Jenssen said.

Ukrainian authorities reacted violently. A spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry stated that the move was “absolutely unacceptable”.

Security guarantee

Jenssen told VG he needed to change that statement, after the quote went viral around the world in media outlets on Tuesday:

– If, and I emphasize if, you get to a point where you can negotiate, the military situation on the ground, the territory, who controls what, will be very central, and will definitely have a decisive influence on how the likely outcome of this war will be watch out. Precisely for this reason, it is very important for us to support Ukraine with what they need, said Jenssen.

– Another important thing is that Ukraine needs security guarantees for the future. We have now seen a pattern of Russian aggression over a long period of time, over several years, and particularly against Ukraine. Remember that the Ukraine war did not start in 2020, but started in 2014. After all, it is in our interest to ensure that this does not happen again on the day the war ends, regardless of how it ended. And then Ukrainians really need to get credible security guarantees that secure their future, he said.

– But we are not there now, he added.

– There are no signs that the Russians have finished their war of aggression.

Ukraine decided

He stressed that then the Ukrainians themselves must assess on their own terms the terms on which they are willing to enter into negotiations, and what they wish to negotiate on.

– As I emphasized in the debate on Tuesday: It is completely independent Ukraine’s right to decide, said Jenssen.

– Is there any desire in NATO to start a discussion about the beginning of the end of this war?

– No, I’ll be careful not to speculate too much on that. I think the most important thing now is that we support Ukraine. They were in the middle of a counterattack.
Many have commented that it will be a bit slower than they expected.
I still want to add a seed of optimism to this, as I also said in the Arendal debate. It must be remembered that when war broke out, there were fears that Ukraine would collapse within weeks and days.
That hasn’t happened at all. They have shown heroic efforts against superior forces. The topic now is how much territory Ukraine can take back, he said.

Jenssen added that there is currently no indication that Russia will change course:

– We see no desire for that. This is why military progress is so important for Ukraine to change the calculus in Moscow, to make it clear to Moscow that time is not on their side, that they will not win over time. Now guns are the path to peace, as my boss Jens Stoltenberg said.

situation on the ground

– This is the military situation on the ground, and who controls what, and this with security guarantees for Ukraine, must be part of some kind of solution in the future, he said.

– What is the security guarantee like?

– I’m not going to speculate right now, but there has to be a framework that ensures this doesn’t happen again. The decisive thing now is that Ukraine and its forces make progress on the battlefield, and then we have to take the rest after that, said Stian Jenssen.