Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggested extending Nato’s Article 5 to Ukraine without giving the country membership of the military alliance, a move she said would be “a guarantee of stable, lasting, effective security” compared to committing troops to policing a ceasefire, a proposal which she criticised as “most complex”.
She said: “Extending the same coverage that Nato countries have to Ukraine would certainly be much more effective, while being something different from Nato’s membership. I think that would be a stable, lasting, effective security guarantee, more than some of the proposals I’m seeing.”
Asked what the difference would be between Meloni’s suggestion and giving Ukraine full Nato membership, a spokesperson for the Italian government said the move ensures that the mutual defence clause is activated “also in defence of Ukraine . . . even on territory outside Nato, regardless of Kyiv’s membership”.
Meloni further excluded committing Italian troops to policing an eventual ceasefire deal in Ukraine, adding that deploying “European troops, French or British, is the most complex solution . . . I continue to be very perplexed about this proposal”.