- Stian Jenssen, the director of the NATO secretary-private general’s office, came under fire for remarks he made at a panel discussion on Tuesday.
- Later, Jenssen acknowledged that his word choice was incorrect and apologized to the Norwegian daily VG.
- Stian Jenssen, a representative of NATO, admitted on Wednesday that remarks he made the day before about Ukraine giving up land to join the military alliance were a “mistake.”
- According to Norwegian daily VG, Jenssen stated during a panel discussion in Arendal, Norway, “I think that a solution may be for Ukraine to give up land, and obtain NATO membership in return.” He added that Ukraine must choose when and under what circumstances it will engage in negotiations.
- In a Wednesday follow-up interview, he revealed to VG: “I shouldn’t have stated it that way; my comment about it was part of a bigger conversation about potential future developments in Ukraine. A error was made.”
- In Kyiv, the initial remark made a fuss. Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential advisor for Ukraine, appeared to take issue with his remarks on social media, labeling the idea of ceding territory for NATO membership as “crazy.”
- The act of doing so, according to Podolyak, would “deliberately choose the loss of democracy, encourage a global criminal, preserve the Russian dictatorship, destroy international law, and pass the fight on to next generations.”
