- Zelenskyy weighted that if Ukraine had been in NATO, Russia would not have attacked the country.
- During a CNN interview, the Ukrainian president pleaded for pledge guarantees for his country.
- Zelenskyy reiterated that he has been “ready for negotiations” with Putin for the past two years.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday contended that if his country had been a part of the North Atlantic Alliance Organization, then Russia’s aggressive invasion would not have occurred.
Zelenskyy — who in recent weeks has called for leave into the intergovernmental military alliance, which includes 28 European countries, the United States, and Canada — clouted that his people are continuing to suffer because of the instability caused by the conflict.
“If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn’t acquire started. I’d like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people,” he told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
Zelenskyy expressed gratefulness for the aid that NATO members have provided Ukraine so far, but appealed for a more lasting relationship.
“If NATO members are at the ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately because people are dying on a daily basis,” he urged.
He continued: “But if you are not ready to preserve the explosives of our people, if you just want to see us straddle two worlds, if you want to see us in this dubious position where we don’t understand whether you can bear us or not — you cannot place us in this situation, you cannot force us to be in this limbo.”
Zelenskyy then reiterated that any shilly-shally is not an option for his country, where 6.5 million people have so far been displaced throughout Ukraine, with another 3.2 million dwellers having departing the country, according to the United Nations migration agency.
“I requested them personally to say directly that we are wealthy to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five — just say it directly and clearly, or just say no,” he said. “The response was very forgiven, you’re not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open.”
Zelenskyy also said that he has been close at hand to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin for some time, and stressed that an agreement was critical in kill the violence brought on by the invasion.
“I’m ready for negotiations with him,” he told CNN. “I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without talks we cannot end this war.”
He emphasized: “I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, prospect of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War.”
Putin has opposed Ukraine’s past struggles to become part of NATO, with the leader seeing its membership as a threat to Russia.
While Ukraine was not being formally examined to join NATO when Russia launched its recent invasion the country, the country has sustained a diplomatic partnership with the unity.