NATO countries allow for an agreement with Ukraine, under which Kyiv would give up the occupied territories to Russia in exchange for joining the North Atlantic Alliance. This option for ending the war is being discussed informally by members of the military bloc, La Republica writes.
According to the newspaper, although experts are considering such a scenario, they have not yet assessed it from a political point of view. The idea is to resolve a military conflict similar to what happened after the Second World War with Germany, whose territory was effectively divided between the USSR and the West.
However, all decisions related to the war in Ukraine are currently frozen until the US presidential election in November this year. Russia is also waiting for the results of the vote and shows no interest in negotiations with President Joe Biden, La Republica writes.
At the same time, the idea of Ukraine's ceding territories may come into force if Donald Trump is re-elected as president. Previously, Trump did not rule out that Ukraine would have to cede part of the territory seized by Russia to end the war. According to him, if he were in power, "everything would be negotiable".
"I think the Russians have the right to keep most of what they deserve, and I think Russia would agree to that. You need a good mediator or negotiator, which we don't have right now," Trump said.
Last August, NATO Secretary General's Chief of Staff Stefan Jenssen suggested that Ukraine could join the alliance in exchange for its territorial concessions to Russia, which caused a significant media outcry.
However, he later clarified that his statement on this issue was "part of a broader discussion on possible scenarios for Ukraine's future".
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called such talk "dishonest". According to him, Kyiv wants to become a member of the alliance, "but exchanging NATO for our lands is a dishonest conversation, a dishonest dialogue, an artificial provocation."
For his part, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, following a meeting with the alliance's foreign ministers, said that the war in Ukraine has two scenarios. In the first scenario, the allies will help Kyiv and the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to regain more territory, and in the second, "this may not happen and Ukraine will lose even more territory".
As reported, NATO leaders, despite the threat of Kyiv's defeat, are not going to invite Ukraine to become a member of the alliance at the summit to be held in July, The New York Times writes. In particular, the United States and Germany oppose Ukraine's membership.