Bloc member says Ukraine might be able to join NATO despite territorial losses to Russia
According to the Czech president, NATO may permit Ukraine to join the alliance even if it does not regain all of its lost territory. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Czech President Petr Pavel has proposed the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, even with what he describes as “temporary” borders.
In September 2022, Ukraine officially submitted its application to become a NATO member, motivated by its ongoing conflict with Russia. However, NATO, led by the U.S., has stated that Ukraine cannot be admitted until the hostilities with Moscow are resolved. Consequently, several NATO member countries have pursued individual security agreements with Kyiv, although these arrangements do not carry the same obligation as Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which mandates collective defense.
Pavel, who served as the head of the NATO Military Committee from 2015 to 2018, suggested that Ukraine might not need to regain all lost territories from Russia as a condition for joining the alliance. He stated, “I don’t think that the full restoration of control over the entire territory is a prerequisite. If there is demarcation, even an administrative border, then we can treat this administrative border as a temporary one, and accept Ukraine into NATO with the territory that it will control at that time,” during an interview with the Novinky.cz news outlet on Monday.
He drew parallels to West Germany's accession to NATO in 1955, a time when “the division of Germany was not accepted by the Western states,” and East Germany was under Soviet occupation. The reunification of Germany followed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc.
Pavel argued, “So I think there is a solution both technically and legally to allow Ukraine to join NATO without bringing NATO into a conflict with the Russian Federation.”
Historically, Pavel has adopted a firm stance against Russia, advocating for stricter sanctions and asserting that Western nations should impose “almost no limits” on the arms supplied to Ukraine.
Ukraine has maintained that Russia must relinquish control of five former Ukrainian regions, including Crimea, which held referendums to become part of Russia—a move that Ukraine and its Western allies have deemed illegitimate. Russia has countered, insisting that Ukraine must abandon all territorial claims for any future peace discussions to progress.
Moscow has consistently opposed the eastward expansion of NATO, viewing Ukraine's bid to join the alliance as a primary driver of the ongoing conflict. According to peace negotiation terms proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine must become a neutral state and impose limitations on the size of its military.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
In September 2022, Ukraine officially submitted its application to become a NATO member, motivated by its ongoing conflict with Russia. However, NATO, led by the U.S., has stated that Ukraine cannot be admitted until the hostilities with Moscow are resolved. Consequently, several NATO member countries have pursued individual security agreements with Kyiv, although these arrangements do not carry the same obligation as Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which mandates collective defense.
Pavel, who served as the head of the NATO Military Committee from 2015 to 2018, suggested that Ukraine might not need to regain all lost territories from Russia as a condition for joining the alliance. He stated, “I don’t think that the full restoration of control over the entire territory is a prerequisite. If there is demarcation, even an administrative border, then we can treat this administrative border as a temporary one, and accept Ukraine into NATO with the territory that it will control at that time,” during an interview with the Novinky.cz news outlet on Monday.
He drew parallels to West Germany's accession to NATO in 1955, a time when “the division of Germany was not accepted by the Western states,” and East Germany was under Soviet occupation. The reunification of Germany followed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc.
Pavel argued, “So I think there is a solution both technically and legally to allow Ukraine to join NATO without bringing NATO into a conflict with the Russian Federation.”
Historically, Pavel has adopted a firm stance against Russia, advocating for stricter sanctions and asserting that Western nations should impose “almost no limits” on the arms supplied to Ukraine.
Ukraine has maintained that Russia must relinquish control of five former Ukrainian regions, including Crimea, which held referendums to become part of Russia—a move that Ukraine and its Western allies have deemed illegitimate. Russia has countered, insisting that Ukraine must abandon all territorial claims for any future peace discussions to progress.
Moscow has consistently opposed the eastward expansion of NATO, viewing Ukraine's bid to join the alliance as a primary driver of the ongoing conflict. According to peace negotiation terms proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine must become a neutral state and impose limitations on the size of its military.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
