Meloni Proposed Extending NATO's Article 5 to Ukraine
- 7.03.2025, 8:51
This would provide stable, long-term, and real security guarantees.
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni proposed extending NATO's Article 5 on collective security to Ukraine without the country’s membership in the Alliance.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Italian Prime Minister's statement during a conversation with journalists on the sidelines of the EU leaders' meeting in Brussels.
"Obviously, the central issue is peace in Ukraine, and I believe we all must make every possible effort to promote the peace process, welcoming the American initiative and everyone who wants to achieve a peaceful process. But a just peace requires clear security guarantees," Meloni said.
In her opinion, these security guarantees should always be based on NATO, as "this is the only serious way to ensure them."
"There are various ways to implement this, and we are working on our proposals. But in my view, sending undefined military contingents, British or any other, is the most complicated and possibly least effective solution. I have spoken about this, repeated it, and also excluded the possibility that Italian troops might be sent in this context," the Italian Prime Minister noted.
According to her, longer-term solutions must be considered, rather than simply sending troops to Ukraine.
"Another matter is the issue of UN peacekeeping missions, but that's a completely different topic, as such missions are deployed when the peace process has already started. And this is not what is being discussed right now. I repeat, I remain very skeptical about this proposal," Meloni added.
She emphasized that extending NATO's Article 5 to Ukraine would be much more effective.
"This is not the same as joining NATO, but it involves extending the same security umbrella that NATO countries have to Ukraine. This would provide stable, long-term, and real security guarantees, more than some of the proposals I see now. Therefore, this is one of the proposals we are putting forward," Meloni clarified.
According to the Italian Prime Minister, this issue is being discussed. It still needs further work, but it is an initiative that Italy is working on and promoting.
"This doesn't mean it will be implemented, but we think it's important to meet, discuss these issues, and continue working in this direction. There are no specific timelines yet, but I see significant interest in this idea from our interlocutors," she added.
It is important to note that Article 5 states that an attack on one NATO member is considered an attack on all members of the Alliance.