Ukraine may join NATO despite being partially occupied by Russia, Czech president says

Ukraine's accession to NATO should not depend on full control over all the country's territory, including the parts occupied by Russia, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with the Novinky news outlet published on Aug. 19.

The July NATO summit in Washington ended with the launch of the Ukraine Compact, a security framework signed by 32 allies. The countries affirmed Kyiv's "irreversible" path toward membership, though Ukraine did not receive any definitive news about its future accession.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has repeatedly called on partners to issue a membership invitation to Kyiv, said that Ukraine will join NATO only after Russia's full-scale war ends.

Pavel expects that Ukraine and Russia could conclude an agreement "in the coming years," which potentially could mean that some of Ukraine's territories may be under Russia's occupation, but the West should consider these territories only as "temporary occupied," the media outlet reported.

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The Kyiv IndependentChris York

In March, the Czech president said that Russia "has no right" to set conditions for peace in Ukraine.  According to Pavel, instead of negotiations, the war would likely end with one side's clear military victory or both sides' eventual exhaustion.

"I don't think that the full regaining of control over the entire territory is a necessary condition (for joining NATO)," Pavel said.

"If there is a demarcation, even of some administrative border, we can accept this administrative border as a temporary one and accept Ukraine into NATO on the territory it will control at that time."

As an example, Pavel cited Germany, which became a member of the alliance in 1955, although part of its territory was occupied by the Soviet Union until 1990.

“Therefore, I think there is a solution, both technical and legal, to allow Ukraine to join NATO without dragging NATO into a conflict with the Russian Federation,” Pavel said.

Zelensky said in December that the signals of Ukraine's accession to NATO in parts is "nonsense," adding that this may be risky for the country.

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The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk