Sec Gen-'Ukraine Decide Terms Of Peace' After CoS Comments Slammed

Speaking at the Arendalsuka political gathering in Norway, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says that "NATO has ongoing internal discussions about how to end the Ukraine conflict and the way towards peace," but that the "Ukrainians decide the terms of peace, NATO's role is to support Ukrainians." Asked on the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Stoltenberg says that the Ukrainians are making progress, but "there is a lot of uncertainty." Says "putin has underestimated NATO" and that "NATO will support Ukraine until it wins the war."

• Stoltenberg's comments come after the secretary general's Chief of Staff Stian Jenssen, speaking at the same event earlier in the week,appeared to suggest that Ukraine could be offered NATO membership in exchange for ceding parts of its occupied territory to Russia as part of a peace deal.
• The comments prompted a furious reaction from Kyiv, and Jenssen was forced into a formal public apology, stating that “My statement about this was part of a larger discussion about possible future scenarios in Ukraine, and I shouldn’t have said it that way. It was a mistake,"
• The Guardian reports: "But Jenssen did not walk back the idea that a land-for-Nato-membership deal could ultimately be on the table. If there were serious peace negotiations then the military situation at the time, including who controls what territory, “will necessarily have a decisive influence,” the chief of staff said."