Zelenskyy: NATO membership for Ukraine is up to NATO, but "our choice has been made"
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine does not agree to a provision included in the earlier, 28-point version of the plan to end the war that would require it to give up its aspirations for NATO membership, stressing that Ukraine's accession to NATO will depend on the Alliance's member states, not on any agreements with Russia.
Source: European Pravda, citing Interfax-Ukraine
Details: Zelenskyy was commenting on the requirement for Ukraine to give up its ambitions to join NATO, as stated in the previous version of the plan to end Russia's war against Ukraine.
"This is an agreement between the parties – the United States, Ukraine, Europe and Russia. In our view, it is the choice of NATO members whether to have Ukraine or not. And our choice has already been made," Zelenskyy said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
The president stated that Ukraine will not accept the demand that it should renounce its NATO aspirations, as set out in the 28-point plan. He added that Ukraine has put forward appropriate arguments.
"They want to negotiate separately – NATO and Russia – about the future. And I think that within these separate arrangements, they will raise the issue of NATO membership for Ukraine. But in any case, that is an agreement between someone and someone else, not us. And I believe this is very important for Ukraine's future," Zelenskyy added.
Background:
- Zelenskyy is aware that the US is blocking Ukraine's path to NATO but does not consider it necessary to change the policy set out in the Constitution on joining the Alliance.
- Zelenskyy has repeatedly stated that the key issue in the peace process is security guarantees, not wording related to NATO.
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