Ukraine’s entry into NATO should not depend on the country, facing Russian aggression, controlling its entire territory, President Petr Pavel said in an interview with Novinky.cz and Právo.
He pointed to West Germany’s post-war entry into the North Atlantic Alliance.
NATO leaders at the July summit in Washington promised Ukraine an irreversible path to the alliance and long-term military aid, but the country did not receive a direct invitation to NATO.
Pavel expects that in the coming years Ukraine can negotiate with Russia for peace. According to the president, the agreement could mean that Russia will occupy part of the Ukrainian territory for a long time, but without the democratic states accepting the change of borders.
“I believe that the full restoration of control over the entire territory is not a necessary prerequisite. If there is a demarcation, even at some administrative border, then we can accept this administrative border as temporary and accept Ukraine into NATO on the territory it will control at that time,” Pavel also said.
The Czech president sees a precedent in history for such a move.
“Let’s look at Germany for example. There was a division of Germany, which was not accepted by all Western countries, and although part of Germany was occupied by the Soviet Union, Germany, that is, the rest, was accepted into NATO, already in 1955. So I think there is both a technical, as well as a legal solution that would allow Ukraine to join NATO without entering into a conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation,” Pavel pointed out.
dnes.bg
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