Kallas on possibility of Ukraine leaving NATO: It’s up to Ukrainians to decide what they are willing to give up to have peace

High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas believes that only Ukrainians can decide what they are willing to sacrifice for peace, but she is convinced that if Ukraine declines NATO membership, it should receive strong security guarantees.

She said this on Monday in Brussels at a press conference following the meeting of the EU Council at the level of foreign ministers.

“I think what Minister Sybiha [Andriy Sybiha – Foreign Minister of Ukraine] , of course, was explaining the difficult position, but also how open they are to the peace negotiations, and they are agreeing to everything to have peace. To illustrate that Russia does not want this peace,” she said.

According to Kallas, the Ukrainian minister did not go into detail about the issue of abandoning NATO membership. “He did not explain this any further. But of course, we know that NATO is enshrined in their constitution. So if they concede into this, then first we need to really - by all Member States and all countries, also Americans - give them very, very strong, tangible security guarantees, not only on paper, but really tangible, like, how many troops on the ground, how much capabilities, because then this is the only thing that really protects them. So, it has to go hand in hand with extremely strong security guarantees. But in the end, it is up to Ukrainians to decide what they are willing to give up to have peace and for Ukrainian people,” she explained her vision.

At the same time, the high representative expressed conviction that in order to have a sustainable, long-term peace in Europe, concessions are needed from Russia. “Putting the pressure on Russia is our policy. We clearly see that they are not in good place. And if our allies would do the same, I think we would be very strong in terms of Russia as well,” Kallas noted.