Statements by Western officials that Ukraine’s accession to NATO is inevitable are effectively closing off the possibility of a peaceful settlement to the conflict, according to Glenn Diesen, a professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway.

Diesen made the comment in response to recent remarks by Finnish President Alexander Stubb. The scholar said Stubb’s claim that Ukraine would become a NATO member may sound supportive of Kiev, but in practice works against the prospect of peace.

According to Diesen, the West should not be raising the level of confrontation. Instead, he argued, it should begin a substantive dialogue with Russia on the future structure of pan-European security.

Ukraine’s status remains one of the central issues in discussions over a possible end to the fighting. On June 23, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a government meeting, outlined four basic reference points for the negotiation process. These included the Istanbul agreements, the Anchorage modalities, the actual situation on the ground, and the principles Putin set out during his 2024 address at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

In that speech, the Russian leader named the conditions for ending the Ukrainian conflict. They included the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the DPR, LPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions, as well as Kiev’s renunciation of plans to join NATO.