Anders Fogh Rasmussen was Secretary General of NATO from 2009 to 2014

Photo: THIERRY CHARLIER/ AFP

Ukraine wants to be admitted to NATO – a step that seems impossible due to the current war of aggression by Russia and its occupied territories. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former secretary general of the military alliance, is now making an unusual proposal: NATO could take in Ukraine without the territories occupied by the aggressor. That would be a signal to Russia that it cannot prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, Rasmussen argues, according to the Guardian.

Rasmussen has long worked with a close adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, including in the run-up to the NATO summit in Vilnius. However, the meeting in the summer ended without an official invitation to Ukraine. Instead, Ukraine was offered the prospect of joining – as soon as conditions permitted. The Ukrainian government reacted with disappointment, having hoped for a concrete date for possible membership.

In the summer of next year, another meeting of NATO members will take place in Washington on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the alliance. It is expected that the meeting will again discuss the possible accession of Ukraine.

Can a country join NATO in war?

The question of Ukraine's NATO membership should not be postponed again next year, Rasmussen argues. "It's time to take the next step and invite Ukraine to join NATO," he said. "We need a new European security architecture in which Ukraine is at the center of NATO," continued Rasmussen, who was NATO Secretary General from 2009 to 2014.

However, it is considered difficult, if not impossible, to admit a country to NATO that is at war. Article 5 of the NATO treaty stipulates that member states are obliged to actively defend another NATO country if it is attacked.

Critics of the plan fear that a partial admission of Ukraine could be interpreted as an abandonment of the occupied territories. Rasmussen counters: "The absolute credibility of the Article 5 guarantees would deter Russia from carrying out attacks on Ukrainian territory within NATO, thus freeing up Ukrainian forces to go to the front." Details of the proposal are to be worked out before the next NATO summit. It is unclear, for example, what should happen if the front line shifts.

Currently, several countries are negotiating bilateral security agreements with Ukraine – as part of the so-called Kyiv Security Pact, which is intended to serve as a bridge to full membership in NATO. The pact includes large-scale arms transfers, improved information sharing, and support for Ukraine's defense industry.

Koe