Zelenskyy responds to Trump's statement on Ukraine's NATO membership
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the statement made by newly elected US President Donald Trump regarding Ukraine's NATO membership. He believes it is too early to draw conclusions, according to his statement during a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen.
"Remember, they told Ukraine that Patriot systems could only be in NATO countries? Either we have been in NATO for a long time, or we should not jump to conclusions," he said.
The president reminded that the same situation occurred with Patriot systems, missile systems, and other NATO-standard weapons.
"We need to work and do everything to ensure that Ukraine gets the security guarantees worthy of our people, which could stop Putin. We will work on this," he added.
According to Zelenskyy, one of the reasons for the war is that Ukraine is not a NATO member and does not have specific security guarantees.
"To be honest, unfortunately, with all due respect to all European countries and to the United States, with all due respect to the amount of (assistance - ed.) that we have received since the beginning of the war, but there was no unified support within the United States with all the European allies regarding Ukraine's NATO membership," he admitted.
The president reminded that some countries opposed Ukraine's NATO membership.
"These were America, Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia. That's a fact. If we speak openly, we need to acknowledge and say honestly — no one saw us there. I believe this is one of the reasons why we have this war," the president stated.
In Zelenskyy's view, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin understood that no one would stand up for Ukraine.
"His (Putin's) army is larger, and he thought he could destroy us. But the Ukrainian army is made up of strong people. Our people have impressed the entire world," Zelenskyy concluded.
He emphasized that today Ukraine has the right to demand serious, strong security guarantees.
"I spoke about this with three US presidents. I spoke about it with President Trump, then with President Biden, and now again with President Trump. I have consistently raised the issue of security guarantees," the president said.
Zelenskyy also added that until Ukraine is provided with significant security guarantees, it is futile to expect Ukrainians to return from Europe.
"You can talk in Europe about wanting Ukrainians to return while not supporting security guarantees for Ukraine. It somehow doesn't add up, at least in my mind. I believe every Ukrainian who wants to return should have security guarantees for their family. ...We want specific security guarantees, and we are asking America and Europe's allies for that. I will discuss this with the US president. Don’t jump to conclusions right away," he concluded.
What Trump said
As previously reported by RBC-Ukraine, newly elected US President Donald Trump stated that he understands why Russia attacked Ukraine.
According to him, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that NATO should not be linked with Ukraine.
