Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the NATO Alliance can provide military defense for non-member nations. She offered that assessment of NATO rights at a meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels, reports the KYIV Independent.
Meloni appeared to support some NATO countries defending Ukraine, even though Ukraine is not a member nation. Ukraine becoming a member nation of NATO has been a part of negotiations to bring about an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. President Donald Trump said he does not believe that will be an option.
The NATO protection umbrella talk is related to NATO's Article 5. That guarantees if any NATO nation is attacked, all must step in to help with defense. That has only happened once, following the September 11 attacks on the U.S.
Some NATO countries have floated the option of sending peacekeeping forces to Ukraine to support a potential ceasefire.
Meloni said that won't work, according to the Independent. "We need to think about more durable solutions" than just sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine. It’s a different thing than entering NATO, but it implies extending the coverage that NATO countries have also to Ukraine."
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