The head of the NATO Secretary General’s office called the words about the cession of territories by Kiev wrong

The head of the NATO Secretary General’s office, Stian Jensen, called wrong the idea he voiced that Kyiv could give up part of the territories in favor of Russia in exchange for NATO membership. About this he declared edition of the Verdens Gang.

August 15 Jenssen allowedthat one of the options for ending the conflict in Ukraine and Kyiv joining NATO could be the rejection of the disputed territories. “I think the solution might be for Ukraine to give up territory and get NATO membership in return,” he said at the time.

On August 16, Jensen said that his opinion on this matter was part of a “broader discussion” about scenarios for the development of the conflict in Ukraine. “I shouldn’t have said that. It was wrong,” he said.

Jenssen added that it is Ukraine’s sovereign right to determine when and under what conditions to enter into negotiations.

Commenting on yesterday’s statement by Jenssen, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev offered Ukraine to abandon Kyiv as a disputed territory in order to join NATO and move the capital to Lviv.

In Ukraine, Jenssen’s idea was reacted negatively. The official representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, Oleg Nikolenko, on his Facebook page (Meta is recognized as extremist in Russia and banned) said that the renunciation of Ukrainian territories in exchange for joining the alliance is “completely unacceptable.” He noted that such statements by a NATO official play into the hands of Russia.

During the July summit in Vilnius, NATO member countries agreed on the conditions for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Kyiv will be sent an invitation to join after all the conditions are met and the unanimous consent of all members of the bloc is reached. As noted, the “formal” conditions for joining the alliance will be softened for Kyiv, which will allow it to shorten the process of joining.

There were no clear dates for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Prior to this, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that Ukraine could not be accepted into the alliance before the end of the conflict.