It is up to Ukraine to decide when the conditions are right to join any negotiations following the Russian invasion, Reuters reports with reference to head of NATO Jens Stoltenberg.

“"It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution," Stoltenberg said at a conference in the Norwegian city of Arendal on Thursday.

He added that NATO's role was to support Ukraine.

Commenting on the words of chief of staff of the NATO Secretary General Stian Jenssen, who on Tuesday admitted that Ukraine could cede territory to the Russian Federation as part of an agreement to end the war, and then said he regretted his comments, Stoltenberg said: "His (Jenssen's) message, and which is my main message, and which is NATO's main message, is, firstly, that NATO's policy is unchanged - we support Ukraine."