President Zelensky admits he has been “cooled off” by Ukraine’s NATO bid and says “the alliance is afraid of a confrontation with Russia… we don’t want to beg on our knees.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he has “cooled off” Ukraine’s demands to join NATO and is open to talks about the future of Russia-occupied regions, opening the door to a possible diplomatic solution to Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Zelenskiy, who has been a beacon of defiance against Russian aggression since the war began almost two weeks ago, said on Monday evening that NATO did not seem willing to accept Ukraine as a member, nor was he willing to “beg on his knees.” .
He also said he was “open to dialogue” about the future of Crimea, Luhansk and Donbass – three pre-invasion Russian-occupied regions that Putin wants to separate from Ukraine – but was not prepared to accept “ultimatums.”
Such rhetoric, while not in line with Russia’s demands, at least opens the door to a cessation of hostilities agreement ahead of high-level talks between the parties due tomorrow in Turkey.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told ABC News on Monday night that he had “cooled off” Ukraine’s demands to join NATO.
On the eve of the invasion, Putin demanded that Ukraine be banned from ever joining NATO as the main of several “security guarantees” that Moscow sought.
He has since added that Ukraine should accept Donetsk and Luhansk – two eastern regions bordering Russia and occupied by pro-Russian rebels since 2014 – as independent republics in line with Moscow’s actions.
Crimea, according to Putin, should be recognized as part of Russia itself. The peninsula has also been occupied by Russian troops since 2014.
A Ukrainian tank rolls down the main road on March 8. President Zelensky said he was “open to dialogue” about the future of Crimea, Luhansk and Donbass.
A Ukrainian soldier stands next to the keel of a Russian Su-34 bomber lying in a damaged building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday, March 8.
Speaking to ABC News Monday night from his presidential office in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said he was “ready for dialogue” with Putin on these issues, but “not ready for capitulation.”
“As for NATO, I have long lost interest in this issue after we realized that NATO is not ready to accept Ukraine,” he said.
“The Alliance is afraid of controversial things and afraid of confrontation with Russia. I don’t want to beg on my knees.
“As for the temporarily occupied territories and the unrecognized republics… we can discuss and find a compromise on how these territories will live on.
“It is important for me how people will live in those territories that still want to be part of Ukraine.”
Zelenskiy’s remarks, especially regarding NATO membership, mark a significant departure from pre-war rhetoric that Ukraine’s ban on NATO membership was “undesirable.”
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