The new Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha met with the allies in Brussels for the first time at a NATO-Ukraine Council. The new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also took part. Sybiha sees accession as the “only real guarantee” for the country’s security, as his ministry in Kiev explained.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is calling for rapid NATO membership in order to secure the parts of the country controlled by Kiev against Russia. In return, Zelensky is prepared to give up the territories conquered by Moscow for the time being. After taking office, Trump is aiming for an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin “within 24 hours,” putting Zelensky under massive time pressure.
NATO Secretary General Rutte didn’t give Zelensky any hope. He said that for the alliance it was currently about “more military aid and less about discussions about what a peace process looks like.” Ukraine must be brought into a “position of strength” before possible negotiations with Russia. Rutte met Trump in Florida around ten days ago.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), however, called NATO membership a possible element of peace. Ukraine needs “security guarantees that actually work,” she emphasized in Brussels.
“We as Europeans can only protect this peace together,” said Baerbock about considerations for an international troop presence to secure a ceasefire. So far, Russian President Putin has denied the path to peace by “continuing to bomb every day for no reason.”
The new Ukrainian chief diplomat Sybiha “urgently” called on the allies to provide 20 more air defense systems against the latest wave of Russian attacks, including on the capital Kiev. Specifically, Sybiha named the US systems Hawks and Nasams as well as systems of the Iris-T type, which Germany had delivered to Ukraine several times.
“We need strong historical decisions instead of calls to Putin,” said Sybiha – a clear criticism of the phone call between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the Kremlin boss a good two weeks ago.
Kiev is also urging its allies to supply defense systems against the new Russian Oreshnik hypersonic weapon. Among other things, the US missile defense system THAAD is under discussion. So far, according to diplomats, no country appears willing to pass on such technology to Kiev.
At the start of the two-day alliance meeting, the NATO foreign ministers spoke to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about the tense situation in the Middle East. “Jordan is one of the most important NATO partners in the Middle East,” emphasized Rutte. The alliance plans to soon open a liaison office in the Jordanian capital Amman.
According to Rutte, on Wednesday the NATO foreign ministers want to discuss, among other things, better protection of data cables against possible sabotage. Recently there was damage to two undersea data cables between Germany and Finland and between Sweden and Lithuania in the Baltic Sea. In this context, China came under suspicion of possible sabotage, but Beijing rejected all suspicions.
