In an apparent aim to pacify Russia, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country is not seeking membership of NATO anymore. President Zelensky made this statement in an interview to ABC news aired on Monday.
“I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that ... NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine… The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia,” Zelensky said.
Referring to an ever-elusive NATO membership, President Zelensky said that he does not want to lead a country which has to beg on “its knees” it.
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Sounding a compromised tone, President Zelensky further said that he is open to negotiate with President Putin on the status of two “Independent Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk in the Donbas region which the latter declared as such on 21st February.
The two “Independent Republics” “have not been recognized by anyone but Russia, these pseudo republics. But we can discuss and find the compromise on how these territories will live on,” President Zelensky said.
Russia on Monday presented four demands from Ukraine, the fulfillment of which will lead to cessation of its invasion.
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These are:
-cessation of military action from the Ukrainian side so that Russia can demilitarise the country;
-Ukraine must make constitutional amendments to its constitution to ensure that the country gives up any aspiration to join any bloc;
-Ukraine must acknowledge that Crimea is Russian territory;
-Ukraine must declare the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces of the Donbas region as independent states.
Responding to these demands, President Zelensky said that President Putin must start dialogue instead of “living in an information bubble”.
Prior to the invasion, Russia has been asking the NATO to fulfil its security concerns including rejecting Ukraine’s membership to the military organization. It also wanted NATO to remove all the troops from countries which entered the alliance after 1997 including Poland.
