NATO Article 5 guarantees for Ukraine could be one way to keep peace - Lithuanian advisor

VILNIUS - NATO's Article 5 guarantees for Ukraine could be one of the ways to maintain peace in the country, Marius Cesnulevicius, a national security advisor to President Gitanas Nausėda, said on Tuesday.

"This is one of the ways. (...) Since the NATO membership process for a state is very long, this conditional partial NATO protection would be a serious guarantee for a country that isn't yet a NATO member but is on the path, either in the near or distant future," Cesnulevicius told the Ziniu Radijas radio station.

"This is one of the possible courses of action. It's being considered, and it has to be discussed. The point is that we haven't had this in the past. So, again, what we're doing now is discussing and considering all possible options. This is one of them," he added.

The idea of providing Ukraine with NATO collective security guarantees was announced earlier by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Last week, Nausėda took part in a meeting of the so-called "coalition of the willing" hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris to discuss further support for Ukraine.

During the meeting, the Lithuanian president urged speeding up military aid to Ukraine, as the United States seeks to bring Kyiv and Moscow to the peace negotiating table.

"There's no silver bullet here. One of the main guarantees that would ensure Ukraine's independence and sustainable peace in the long term is a strong Ukraine," Cesnulevicius said.

According to him, the international community must invest in Ukraine, its defense industry, and the country's further development.

Cesnulevicius also noted Nauseda's idea of admitting Ukraine to the European Union in 2030, provided the country is ready for it.

"There are many ways we can contribute to Ukraine's security, but until a peace agreement is reached, we have no possibility to do so. But once it's reached, we'll have to act right away," the advisor said.

"These discussions aren't a case of getting ahead of ourselves, but rather of advance preparation. We're determining what we can do, how we can do it, and when the time comes, we should no longer be talking but acting immediately," he said.