Kallas: If NATO bid ruled out, Ukraine needs real troops, tangible security guarantees

If NATO membership for Ukraine is taken off the table, Kyiv must receive real and tangible security guarantees, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said on December 15, warning that the consequences of Russian territorial gains would extend far beyond eastern Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters as she arrived at the EU Foreign Affairs Council, Kallas said countries seek NATO membership primarily to protect themselves from Russian aggression. She pointed to Sweden, Finland and the Baltic states as examples of nations that joined the alliance to secure collective defence, Caliber.Az reports via the EU Foreign Affairs Council. 

“What we have to keep in mind is why countries want to be in NATO is because they do not want Russia to invade them, to attack them. And that is why Sweden and Finland joined NATO, that is why the Baltic states joined NATO, to have this defence umbrella,” Kallas said.

She stressed that if Ukraine’s accession to NATO is ruled out, alternative security guarantees must be credible and enforceable.

“Now, if this [NATO membership – ed.] is not in question, or this is out of the question, then we need to see what are the security guarantees that are tangible. They cannot be papers or promises. They have to be real troops, real capabilities, so that Ukraine is able to defend itself,” she said.

Kallas warned that allowing Russia to consolidate control over eastern Ukraine would not end the conflict.

“We have to understand that Donbas is not Putin's end game. If he gets Donbas, then the fortress is down, and then they definitely move on with taking the whole of Ukraine,” she said.

She added that the fall of Ukraine would pose a wider threat to regional and European security.

“And if Ukraine goes, then other regions are also in danger. We know this from history and we should learn from history,” Kallas said.

By Sabina Mammadli