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Some NATO countries may decide to put troops on the ground in Ukraine if its member states fail to provide Kyiv with meaningful security guarantees at the alliance's summit in Vilnius, former NATO secretary general Anders Rasmussen said on June 7.
“If Nato cannot agree on a clear path forward for Ukraine, there is a clear possibility that some countries individually might take action," Rasmussen said. "We know that Poland is very engaged in providing concrete assistance to Ukraine. And I wouldn’t exclude the possibility that Poland would engage even stronger in this context on a national basis and be followed by the Baltic states, maybe including the possibility of troops on the ground."
The former secretary general said Ukraine should receive written security guarantees, covering intelligence sharing, trainings, ammunition production, continued arms supplies before the summit. According to Rasmussen, these guarantees would be a start, but should not overshadow Ukraine's path to NATO as a priority.
Rasmussen Global, a political consultancy firm founded by former NATO secretary general, has been lobbying for long-term security guarantees for Ukraine through a pro-bono political campaign. Rasmussen also chairs the Group on International Security Guarantees for Ukraine with Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak.
In April, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that security guarantees and Ukraine's membership would be discussed at the summit. In May, Washington Post reported that Ukraine will not receive a formal invitation to join the alliance at the July summit as countries do not have a unified approach.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
