Munich conference chief urges NATO to welcome Ukraine's membership as soon as possible

Munich Security Conference Chairman Christoph Heusgen has said NATO allies should signal to Ukraine that it "belongs to the Euro-Atlantic family" and invite it to join the Alliance as soon as circumstances permit.

He made the remarks in an interview with two German publications, urging the allies to voice such a message at the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Der Spiegel reports.

Heusgen noted that Ukraine's accession to NATO remains impossible while the current phase of the war continues, as it would mean dragging the Alliance directly into war.

"Ukraine should also become a member of NATO when circumstances permit," he said.

The Conference chairman also advocated continuing maximum military support for Ukraine, including Western F-16 fighter jets, stressing that it was about its survival as a state.

Speaking of potential peace talks, Heusgen rejected ideas of any "security guarantees" for Moscow.

"Russia has violated all the treaties it entered into. It would be a mockery to give Putin any security guarantees," he said.

Heusgen is convinced that any return of Putin to the "first ranks" of international politics is out of the question even after the peace talks with Ukraine.

"It is absolutely impossible that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin can act on a par with the US or China again. He is a pariah in international politics, there is no trust in him at all anymore," he added.

In the spring, Heusgen called on the West to step up aid to Ukraine, arguing that gradual and indecisive military support would lead to a stalemate on the battlefield.