Addition to Article 5 (The North Atlantic Treaty)

As a dual citizen of Estonia and Norway, both NATO member states, I would like to propose an addition to the North Atlantic Treaty.

Article 5

The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.

Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security.

International peace and security will be considered restored only after the military defeat of the aggressor(s) and a change of regime in the aggressor state(s), followed by the prosecution of individuals responsible for aggression and/or war crimes.

I also kindly ask decision-makers in NATO member states to answer a simple question regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO: in the event of a future attack on any NATO member state, would they prefer to have Ukraine as a fellow NATO member fighting for freedom against the aggressor, or as an observer on the sidelines, as NATO is today with regard to Russia’s war against Ukraine? For me, the answer is quite simple: I would like Ukraine to be a member state fighting for its own freedom and ours alongside us.

As a dual citizen of two NATO member states, I would like to see Ukraine invited to join NATO as soon as possible, even before its victory over the Russian aggressors. We can invite Ukraine to become a full member on one condition: during the ongoing war, other NATO member states would not participate with troops on the ground but would help secure the skies over Ukraine by providing aircraft and air defence systems from the moment Ukraine becomes a full member of NATO. This decision would save many lives—not only Ukrainian and Russian lives in this war, but also the lives of many citizens of NATO member states in the future.

In light of the recent contact by Norway’s Prime Minister and Finland’s President with the terrorist leader Putin, it must once again be emphasised that the Russian Federation regards all contact initiated by the West, especially by countries the size of Norway and Finland, as a sign of weakness and an opportunity to advance its own propaganda. It also sees such contact as an opportunity to exert further pressure on these countries in the future.