Safety|Jens Stoltenberg, the recently resigned NATO Secretary General, said at the weekend that a divided Germany could serve as a model for peace and security guarantees in Ukraine.
Brussels
Military alliance Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte says that Ukraine can decide under what conditions it is ready for peace negotiations with Russia and what kind of peace terms it is ready for.
Rutte’s comments are a response from the former Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg to the views he expressed in a magazine interview over the weekend. In an interview with the Financial Times Stoltenberg raised the divided Germany as a possible model for the future peace of Ukraine as well.
Ukraine wants to quickly become a member of NATO, so that it has credible security guarantees against the Russian threat. Some NATO countries oppose this, as they fear that the obligation to defend Ukraine would lead to a war against Russia. Russia still occupies a large part of the eastern parts of Ukraine.
According to Stoltenberg, NATO membership can be resolved in such a way that the border triggering the introduction of Article 5 is clearly defined, but it does not necessarily follow the internationally recognized state border. Article 5 obliges member states to help a member state that has been attacked.
Stoltenberg offered Germany, which was divided after the Second World War, as a historical point of comparison.
“West Germany considered East Germany part of a larger Germany. They did not have an embassy in East Berlin. But NATO, of course, only protected West Germany,” Stoltenberg said.
The idea has previously been around, among other things, in the discussions of researchers, but from the mouth of NATO’s secretary general, who has just stepped down, the idea gains new weight. Stoltenberg handed over his duties to Rutte at the beginning of October.
President Aleksander Stubb is the first head of state to visit the NATO headquarters to meet the new Secretary General Mark Rutte on Tuesday.
HS asked Rutte how much support the divided Germany model enjoys among NATO countries and whether NATO recommends this model to Ukraine.
“It is ultimately up to Ukraine to decide what are the acceptable conditions for a negotiated solution and, in general, for conducting negotiations with Russia. It is Ukraine’s decision,” says Rutte.
According to him, NATO’s task is only to focus on supporting Ukraine.
“That is the only way to find a negotiated solution. I believe the only way is for us to insure [Venäjän presidentin Vladimir] Putin’s for not winning on the battlefield. In order to get a negotiated solution, we need to make sure that Ukraine is strong.”
Also president Alexander Stubb talked about the German model. He met Rutte on Tuesday in Brussels.
“I would be very careful at this point.”
Stubb dismissed the speeches as Stoltenberg’s private thoughts. He said he recognizes the feeling when a leader is freed from political responsibility and “is able to talk a little more freely”.
Stoltenberg was appointed on Tuesday as the new chairman of the Munich Security Conference.
According to Stubb, the fact remains that Russia is waging a war of aggression in Ukraine.
“The situation is critical, very difficult. When at some point we go on the path of peace, there are certain conditions. I myself have spoken about four conditions, i.e. territory, security guarantees, justice and reconstruction. And in all of these, the driver is present [Ukrainan presidentti Volodymyr] Zelenskyi.”
On Saturday A summit meeting of Ukraine’s supporting countries is to be held in Ramstein, Germany. It was originally convened by the President of the United States Joe Bidenbut due to the hurricane situation in his home country, Biden announced on Tuesday that he would postpone his visit to Germany. The realization of the meeting is now uncertain.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss arms aid to Ukraine and Zelensky’s peace plan.
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