• NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday sought to downplay comments made by his aide earlier in the week that suggested Ukraine could give up land to Russia in exchange for membership of the military alliance. POLITICO
• Stian Jenssen, Stoltenberg's chief of staff, made the comments speaking at a panel event in the Norwegian city of Arendal on Tuesday. He reportedly said: "I think that a solution could be for Ukraine to give up territory and get NATO membership in return." Newsweek (LR: 1 CP: 5)
• The comments sparked outrage among a number of Ukrainian politicians, prompting Jenssen to give an interview with the Norwegian news outlet VG which first reported his initial remarks. He said: "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." Guardian (a) (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• However, Jenssen did not walk back the possibility of a land-for-NATO-membership deal, stating: "If, and I emphasized if, you get to the point that you can negotiate, the military situation on the ground — territory, who controls what — will be central, and will necessarily have a decisive impact on what a possible outcome of this war will look like." VG
• In both his original comments and his clarifying remarks, Jenssen was careful to state that it was only up to Ukraine to decide if and when they decide to negotiate. Guardian (a) (LR: 2 CP: 5)
• That sentiment was echoed by Stoltenberg on Thursday who said: "If you want a lasting, just peace, then military support for Ukraine is the way to get there." He added: "It is Ukraine, and only Ukraine, that can decide when the prerequisites for negotiations are present," stating that the role of NATO is to "support" Kyiv. Guardian (b) (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Pro-Ukraine narrative:

• Any talk of Ukraine giving up its territory to secure a peace deal is unacceptable. NATO should be working to ensure that Ukraine has all the weapons it needs to successfully repel Russia from all its territories, not simply making statements that favor the enemy.
  Ukrainska Pravda

Pro-establishment narrative:

• NATO fully supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. These were off-hand remarks that suggested a hypothetical of how the war may end, but the decision is Ukraine's alone to make.
  Guardian (LR: 2 CP: 5)

Nerd narrative:

• There is a 1% chance that Ukraine will join NATO before 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
  Metaculus (LR: 3 CP: 3)