Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared that it was necessary to “recognize that Ukraine will not be able to join NATO”, whereas this dossier is one of the reasons put forward by Russia to justify its invasion.
“We heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we couldn’t join. This is the truth and it must be recognized, ”said the Ukrainian president during a videoconference with leaders of the countries of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a military coalition led by the United Kingdom.
“I am happy that our people are starting to understand this and to rely only on their strengths,” he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky nevertheless regretted that NATO, “which seems hypnotized by Russian aggression”, refuses to create a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
A temperate position
The Ukrainian president had already tempered his position on NATO last week in an interview with the American channel ABC.
“As for NATO, I tempered my position on this issue some time ago, when we understood that NATO was not ready to accept Ukraine,” he said. .
As a possible condition for Ukraine’s withdrawal, Moscow says it wants a guarantee that kyiv will never join NATO, the transatlantic alliance created to protect Europe from the threat of the USSR at the start of the war. cold and which then gradually widened to the gates of Russia.