G7 Leaders Discuss Alternatives to Ukraine's NATO Membership, Reports Suggest

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The leaders of G7 countries held a videocall with European Union and NATO officials to discuss alternatives to NATO membership for Ukraine, including a model excluding the alliance's principle of collective defense, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a French presidential adviser.

“Our country is ready to give security guarantees," the official was quoted as saying. "These are security guarantees which, in a way, are similar to those which exist in the European Union Treaty, but which are basically different from the NATO model."

According to the French official, Ukraine's security guarantees will not be related to NATO's Article 5 principle, under which an attack on one member of the alliance will be treated as an attack on all.

On Tuesday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that US President Joe Biden and representatives of the EU, NATO, and G7 discussed via videocall their efforts to continue providing security assistance to Ukraine and imposing new sanctions against Russia.

On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian provocations. The Russian defence ministry said the operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only.