Lithuanian president on Russia's demands: Aggressor cannot choose from menu

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda has stated that no one has the right to issue ultimatums to NATO.

As reported by LRT, Nausėda emphasised that NATO makes decisions "based, first and foremost, on the security of all members of the alliance, including us, without any doubt".

"NATO’s Article 5 is working. It must be properly presented, explained, and made clear that the aggressor cannot choose its preferred options from a menu," Nausėda said. 

He noted that any peace agreement regarding Ukraine must be reached in such a way that "there is not the slightest temptation to test NATO’s full capacity as an organisation" in the future.

"In the meantime, NATO as an organisation must do much more than it has done so far in order to be able to resist any kind of provocation in the future," he added. 

Pete Hegseth, the new US Secretary of Defense, announced on 12 February that restoring Ukraine's borders to their pre-2014 status is not a realistic goal and stated that the US does not consider Ukraine's NATO membership a feasible outcome of a peace settlement.

On Thursday, 13 February, Hegseth said that acknowledging Ukraine’s borders will not be restored to their 2014 state "is not a concession to Vladimir Putin".

Meanwhile, Keith Kellogg, Trump’s special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, believes that enshrining Ukraine’s territorial losses in a potential "peace deal" does not equate to recognising them.