Germany, France and Great Britain are considering closer ties between NATO and Ukraine, a deal that would give Kyiv greater access to advanced military equipment but prompt peace talks with Russia.
This was reported by The Wall Street Journal with reference to representatives of the governments of the three countries.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last week outlined a plan for a deal that would give Ukraine much greater access to advanced military equipment, weapons and ammunition for defense after the war ends. He said the plan should be on the agenda of the annual meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in July.
The proposed pact would not include any commitments regarding the deployment of NATO forces in Ukraine and would not offer Kyiv the so-called Article 5 protection. However, the document will provide Ukraine with the military means to deter any future Russian attack.
Although the exact terms have not been defined, some officials have said that Ukraine could gain access to a wide range of standard NATO weapons systems and integrate its armed forces more closely into the Western supply chain.
According to French, German and British politicians, a year after the start of the war, Paris and Berlin also support this initiative, and all three governments see it as a way to strengthen confidence in Ukraine and give the countryʼs government an incentive to start negotiations with Russia. Officials have been careful to say that any decision on when and under what conditions peace talks will begin is entirely up to Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal writes that this proposal is one possible set of security guarantees that could allow Ukraine to be sure that Russia will not use the ceasefire as a pause before resuming the invasion. So far, according to officials from Central Europe, this proposal has only been discussed in passing.
Sources of the publication also reported that Macron and Scholz told Zelensky at a meeting in Paris in early February that he needed to start consideration of peace talks with Moscow. Over dinner at the Elysee Palace, Macron told Zelensky that he was a "great military leader" but that he would eventually have to go into politics and make "difficult decisions," the sources said.
A British official said that another goal of the agreement with NATO would be to change the Kremlinʼs calculations. If Moscow sees that the West is willing to increase its military aid and commitments to Ukraine over time, this will help convince it that it will not be able to achieve its military goals.
- On February 24, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that negotiations with Putin were impossible. Putin is no longer the man he was before the full-scale war.