West would like to offer Ukraine NATO membership in exchange for territory concessions – WSJ

Some Western officials suggest that Ukraine agree to territorial concession agreements to end the war, but they fall short of the goals of both Kyiv and Moscow.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials in the West, writes European Pravda

Details: The publication, the United States and its key European allies, such as Germany, want to prevent Russia's victory, but are afraid of the costs and risks associated with providing assistance to Ukraine for its complete victory.

The article says that in private conversations, many Western officials privately believe that the US and its allies cannot let Kyiv decide alone on the ultimate goal that will bring the war to an end.

They worry, the Wall Street Journal reports, that Ukraine's "maximalist aims" would lead to an everlasting conflict. In exchange for accepting the de facto loss of some land, they would prefer to offer Ukraine promises such as a membership in NATO or the EU or pledges of continuous military and economic assistance.

This reasoning is motivated by a need to regulate the conflict whose ripple effects have affected the world economy, apprehension about how long Western voters would continue to accept the current level of assistance to Kyiv, and doubt that Ukraine can completely drive Russian forces out of the country.

Earlier, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg reacted to the words of his chief of staff, Stian Jensen, who had previously admitted that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance in exchange for "giving up" part of its territory.

Stoltenberg insisted that only Ukrainians can decide when conditions for peace negotiations emerge, and they're the ones who can decide at the negotiating table which decision is acceptable.

On 15 August, Stian Jenssen, head of the NATO Secretary-General's Office, suggested that Ukraine could potentially join the Alliance in exchange for its territory. However, he emphasised that such a decision should be made by Kyiv alone.

Stian Jenssen later referred to his proposals to discuss Ukraine's membership of the North Atlantic Alliance in exchange for territorial concessions to Russia as a "mistake".

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