The head of the NATO Secretary General's Office, Stian Jenssen, referred to his remarks about a possible scenario for Ukraine's membership in the Alliance in exchange for territorial concessions by Russia as a "mistake," according to his comments to the Norwegian portal VG.

Jenssen noted that his statement was "part of a broader discussion about possible future scenarios in Ukraine, and I should not have expressed it in this way." "It was a mistake," added the Alliance official.

He mentioned that his statement from yesterday regarding "membership in exchange for territory" requires clarification after causing a resonance in the media.

"If – and I emphasized if – you reach a point where you can negotiate, the military situation on the battlefield, who controls what, will play a central role and will definitely have a decisive influence on the possible outcome of this war," Jenssen stated.

Therefore, the Alliance official added, "it is extremely important that we support Ukraine with what it needs."

In addition, the head of the Secretary General's Office mentioned the necessity of providing "security guarantees" to Kyiv to prevent a recurrence of the events of 2014 and 2022 – Russian aggression.

Jenssen specifically emphasized that Ukraine itself must decide on the conditions under which it would be willing to start negotiations with Moscow and what these negotiations would be about.

Recall that on Tuesday, the head of the NATO Secretary General's Office, Stian Jenssen, suggested that Ukraine could become a member of the Alliance in exchange for "relinquishing" part of its territory, but he emphasized that such a decision should be made solely by Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called such discussions "absolutely unacceptable," emphasizing that they play into the Russian narrative.