Security mechanism inspired by NATO Article 5 remains 'main one on the table,' Meloni says
A security mechanism inspired by NATO Article 5 remains the main guarantee on the table for Ukraine, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Aug. 27.
"The Italian proposal, based on a mechanism inspired by NATO's Article 5, is currently the main one on the table. It is a potential contribution to the peace that our nation has made, and I think we should be proud of it," Meloni said.
NATO Article 5, one of the security alliance's most crucial pacts, stipulates the principle of collective defense. The article establishes that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.
Meloni's remarks come as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies efforts to broker a peace deal to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Finally, after three and a half years in which Russia gave no sign of dialogue, in which it simply demanded Kyiv's capitulation, a glimmer of hope for a negotiated path has opened up," Meloni said.
Russia has repeatedly issued maximalist demands towards Ukraine, including in several rounds of largely inconclusive direct peace talks in recent months.
Meloni has previously proposed a security guarantee that would require Ukraine's allies to decide within 24 hours of a renewed Russian invasion whether or not to commit troops, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 20.
"These glimmers of hope were made possible thanks, of course, to an initiative by the President of the United States, but even more so thanks to the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian people and the united support of the West, Europe, and Italy, despite a public opinion that was not always convinced," Meloni said.
Extending NATO's Article 5 to Ukraine would "be the simplest and most effective proposal" and would test Russia's intentions for peace, Meloni said in March.
Presidential Office Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov are heading to New York this week to discuss security guarantees and future peace talks, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 27.
The upcoming meeting will focus on future security guarantees for Ukraine and setting up a Kyiv-Moscow meeting, an unnamed person familiar with the plans said.
