Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he has “cooled down” regarding his country’s effort to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization amid Russia’s war with it.
International news outlet Business Insider reported that Zelenskyy said he had understood that NATO was not prepared to accept Ukraine. He said that the alliance was concerned about controversy and confrontation with Russia due to which it was hesitant to grant Ukraine a membership. He said he did not want his country to be begging on its knees.
The Ukrainian president said that he was also open to discussing the control of Russian-backed separatist regions in the eastern regions of the country.
“It is important to me how people who want to be part of Ukraine will live there. I am interested in the opinion of those who see themselves as citizens of the Russian Federation. However, we must discuss this issue,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with international media channel ABC News that was aired on Monday night.
The country’s bid to join NATO has been used as justification by Russian President Vladimir Putin for his decision to invade Ukraine.
In 2008, Kyiv had applied to initiate a NATO Membership Action Plan and the alliance welcomed its bid, assuring that Ukraine would eventually become a member, but did not offer it a timeline.
