Ukraine may get Nato-like protection, but membership not under discussion

WASHINGTON – Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte said on Aug 18 Nato membership for Ukraine was not under discussion but that there was a discussion on “Article 5” type security guarantees for the country that Russia invaded in February 2022.

Key quotes

“The situation is this – the US and some other countries have said that they are against Nato membership for Ukraine. The official Nato position... is that there is an irreversible path for Ukraine into Nato,” Mr Rutte said during an interview on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle show.

“But what we are discussing here is not Nato membership, what we are discussing here is Article 5 type of security guarantees for Ukraine and what exactly they will entail will now be more specifically discussed.”

Why Article 5 is important

Article 5 of Nato is the alliance’s collective defence clause – it means that an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all 32 members.

Ukraine is not a Nato member, so Article 5 does not apply to it. However, Nato leaders like Mr Rutte are exploring a similar security deal to offer Ukraine strong protection and deter further Russian aggression, without granting it full membership, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruled out.

Context

After the Aug 15 summit with Mr Putin in Alaska, US President Donald Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato and European leaders at the White House on Aug 18.

Mr Rutte told Fox News security guarantees for Ukraine were discussed in the meeting and that there was no discussion about boots on the ground.

Mr Trump described the Aug 18 meetings as “very good” and said he called Mr Putin to begin arrangements for a meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents before a trilateral meeting that would also include Mr Trump. REUTERS