Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni proposes extending the scope of Article 5 of the NATO Charter to Ukraine without granting it full membership in the Alliance.
The Financial Times writes about this.
NATOʼs Article 5 charter obliges it to provide military assistance to allies under attack, which Meloni sees as a more enduring security guarantee for Ukraine than sending in European peacekeepers.
"I rule out the possibility of sending Italian soldiers. It is better to think about more long-term solutions. A long-term solution would be to expand Article 5 of the NATO charter," Ansa quoted Meloni as saying.
Peacekeeping troops in Ukraine
On February 17, French President Emmanuel Macron organized the first emergency meeting with EU leaders amid the US announcing the start of negotiations with Russia to end the war in Ukraine without the participation of Europe and Kyiv.
One of the key issues was sending troops to Ukraine to monitor a possible peace deal. This was also the main point of contention of the evening. Macron proposed placing European peacekeeping forces behind the future demarcation line in Ukraine, rather than directly on it. Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland opposed it. However, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that his country was ready to deploy troops to Ukraine to implement any peace deal.
After the summit, the commander-in-chief of the Swiss Armed Forces, Thomas Süssli, said his country could contribute troops to a future peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if a request was made and the government agreed. Irish Prime Minister Michaël Martin said his country was also ready to send peacekeepers to Ukraine for post-war security.
The Bulgarian Parliament has adopted a declaration that the Bulgarian Armed Forces will not participate in military operations in Ukraine.
Romania could become a transit center for troops for Western peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. This decision is currently not supported by the countryʼs parliament.
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