NATO Official Gives Ukraine 'Unacceptable' Conditions for Joining

The chief of staff for NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has angered Kyiv officials for suggesting Ukraine could become a member of NATO if it ceded some of its territory to Russia.

Stian Jenssen, who has held the title of director of the Private Office of the NATO Secretary General since 2017, reportedly made the suggestion while speaking on a recent panel in the Norwegian city of Arendal.

Ukrainian territory has been one of the driving forces in the war Russian President Vladimir Putin launched on Ukraine in February 2022. During the course of the invasion, Russia's forces have occupied various settlements throughout the country, though Ukraine has since liberated many areas during its current counteroffensive.

However, Putin illegitimately annexed four Ukrainian territories to Russia in September. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has demanded those territories back, as well as Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014.

The Norwegian newspaper VG on Tuesday reported that while discussing Ukraine's ambitions of joining NATO to the Arendal panel, Jenssen said: "I think that a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory and get NATO membership in return."

The paper noted that Jenssen emphasized that "it must be up to Ukraine to decide when and on what terms they want to negotiate." When a VG reporter asked the NATO adviser whether it was the alliance's view that Ukraine must give up land in order to join, Jenssen seemingly suggested others have discussed plans for Ukraine following the war.

Despite Jenssen indicating his proposal contained nuance, Ukrainian officials have already criticized his statement.

Mykhailo Podoliak, Zelensky's top adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, denounced Jenssen's suggestion on X, formerly Twitter.

"Trading territory for a NATO umbrella? It is ridiculous. That means deliberately choosing the defeat of democracy, encouraging a global criminal, preserving the Russian regime, destroying international law, and passing the war on to other generations," Podoliak wrote.

He added, "Murderers should not be encouraged by appalling indulgences."

Newsweek reached out to NATO on Tuesday via email for comment.

A spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also publicly rejected the suggestion, calling Jenssen's proposal "absolutely unacceptable" in a statement posted on Facebook.

"We have always assumed that the alliance [NATO], like Ukraine, does not trade territories. The conscious or unconscious participation of NATO officials in shaping the narrative regarding the possibility of Ukraine's giving up its territories plays into the hands of Russia," foreign ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko wrote in part.

A NATO official has since remarked on the tensions created by Jenssen's remarks by reaffirming the bloc's "clear and unwavering" support of Ukraine.

"We fully support Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as NATO leaders reaffirmed at the Vilnius Summit in July," a NATO official was quoted as saying by Ukrainian outlet European Pravda. "We will continue to support Ukraine as long as necessary, and we are committed to achieving a just and lasting peace."

Stoltenberg has not commented on Jenssen's reported statement as of press time, but he has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine and has stated numerous times that he believes the country will eventually join NATO.