One of the apparent reasons behind Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the latter’s desire on joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
However, in an interview on Monday (7 Mar) night, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is no longer pressing for his country to join NATO.
He explained that this was because NATO is not ready to accept Ukraine and afraid of confrontations with Russia.
President Zelensky also said he’s open to discussing the sensitive subject of recognising the separatist regions of Donestk and Luhansk as independent “republics”.
According to ABC News, Russia has stated its conditions to end the ongoing war against Ukraine, one of which is for Ukraine to change its constitution and give up on its wishes to join NATO.
When asked about NATO, President Zelensky said he has “cooled down” regarding this subject a long time ago.
He continued that NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine as the alliance is afraid of controversial things and confrontations with Russia.
Zelensky added that he never wanted to be president of a “country which is begging something on its knees”, insisting that Ukraine will never be that.
International security alliance NATO was formed back in 1949 with the aim of protecting European countries from the Soviet Union.
Key countries of the alliance include the US, UK, Canada, Denmark, and France.
NATO has expanded east in recent years, taking in former Soviet countries like Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
This reportedly infuriated the Kremlin, which views NATO’s expansion, as well as the military posture of its Western allies, as a threat.
Back in 2008, NATO declared that Ukraine and Georgia will become members states — both were former Soviet countries. This eventually did not come to fruition.
According to ABC News, Russian President Vladimir Putin has since demanded that Ukraine never join the alliance. He hopes to limit NATO’s presence in Eastern Europe.
Besides the issue of NATO membership, Putin also demanded that Ukraine recognises Donetsk and Lugansk as sovereign and independent.
Putin had earlier recognised the 2 cities in Eastern Ukraine as independent, separatist pro-Russian “republics”. Both had been at war with Kyiv since 2014, reported CNA.
Zelensky said he’s ready for discussions on the subject, adding that he’s “talking about security guarantee”.
The Ukrainian President continued that only Russia has recognised these “pseudo republics”.
Nonetheless, he says they can discuss and find a compromise on how the regions can continue to “live on”.
The Ukraine president ends with some powerful words, saying this is another of Russia’s ultimatums but that Ukraine is not prepared for ultimatums.
He urges Putin to start the dialogue instead of “living in the informational bubble without oxygen”.
Russia had told Ukraine on Monday (7 Mar) that they would stop military operations immediately if Ukraine meets their demands.
Besides the conditions above, they demanded that Ukraine acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory and cease military action. Thus far, there has been no immediate reaction by Ukraine.
While these demands are not by any means easy to meet, it’s perhaps a step forward that the parties involved have made their conditions and stances clear.
We hope both countries will reach a compromise soon. After all, lives are lost every day as the war wages on.
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Featured image adapted from pedrojosecama on Twitter.
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