President Zelensky says Ukraine's territory will not be traded to join NATO
(Baonghean.vn) - Ukrainian President Zelenksy affirmed that he will never trade the country's territory to become an official member of NATO.
At a press conference after the NATO Summit in Vilnius (Lithuania), answering a question from journalists about whether the West was preparing for a scenario in which NATO membership could be used as a tool for negotiations with Russia, President Zelensky stressed: “We will never exchange any status for the sacrifice of our territory. We will not give up our territory. And we will never exchange it for a frozen conflict. Ukraine’s partners know this position of mine.”
NATO leaders earlier at the summit approved a multi-year support package for Ukraine, which includes three elements: multi-year support to achieve interoperability with NATO, the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and the lifting of conditions for completing the membership action plan.
Observers say the failure of Ukraine's counter-offensive has forced major adjustments to NATO's plans.
“We can understand the disappointment of the Ukrainian President, but the members of the North Atlantic Alliance also experience the same feeling. Russia has slowed down the speed of the counterattack. The current situation on the battlefield has changed all the political and military calculations of the allies” - observers of VISAO (Portugal) commented.
Faced with the military uncertainty of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with no end in sight to the conflict, NATO can only express its hope and desire to accept Ukraine as the 33rd member of the alliance, only under certain conditions.
