Oliver Towfigh Nia
10 July 2023•Update: 10 July 2023
BERLIN
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said his country is open to a US proposal to offer Ukraine a sort of security arrangement currently offered to Israel instead of membership in NATO.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Berlin, Scholz said he remains “committed to providing security guarantees” to Ukraine after a peace agreement is reached with Russia.
What such security guarantees could look like is a “matter of discussion,” he added.
Scholz stressed that the US offer for an Israel-model security framework for Ukraine could play “a major role” in the ongoing discussions.
“The proposal made by the American president is one which is not brand new, but which plays a major role and which also gives a little indication of what it could be, for example. But the discussion is far from being over,” he said.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Biden indicated that Ukraine's NATO accession would be premature, saying: "I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war."
However, Biden said that the US is ready to provide weaponry and extend other security support for Ukraine, as it does for Israel, until Kyiv gains NATO membership.
Last week, Scholz reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s plans to join NATO ahead of the upcoming summit of the Western military alliance in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
The German leader made clear that in his view, “nobody can become a member of a defensive alliance during a war.”
One of the criteria for NATO membership is that “there are no open border conflicts,” Scholz added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reportedly been pressing NATO leaders in recent weeks to put Ukraine on a concrete path to accession and threatening not to attend the Vilnius summit if they fail to deliver.
