Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that the United States does not want Ukraine to be part of NATO. Zelenskyy raised his claim at a meeting of defense ministers held in Brussels.
"I told US President Donald Trump that security guarantees are definitely a priority for us and we don't see guarantees without you. What are they? Let's talk. I know that the Americans don't want us to be in NATO, to be honest. And it will be very difficult for us," the Ukrainian president said.
Kiev and its European allies demanded to be included in any peace negotiations after US President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Russia's Vladimir Putin and said Ukraine could not return all of its land nor join NATO.
"It is important that everything does not go according to the Russian president's plan, in which he wants to do everything to carry out his bilateral negotiations, between himself and the United States of America. We, as a sovereign country, simply will not be able to accept any agreement without us. I believe that the Europeans should be at the negotiating table because we are part of Europe and of course we will be members of the European Union," he added.
Trump's unilateral move toward Putin, coupled with apparent concessions to Ukraine's key demands, raised alarm among both Kiev and European allies in NATO, who said they feared the White House could make a deal without them.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called for Europe to be involved in the negotiations. "It must be clear to everyone that we cannot sit at the children's table," Pistorius said ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz considers the debate about a possible peacekeeping force in Ukraine with the participation of the Bundeswehr premature. "Everyone knows that this is not an issue right now," Scholz told Politico magazine.
It is not even clear under what conditions Ukraine would be willing to agree to a peace agreement.
Meanwhile, other members of the German Bundestag consider Trump's initiative to begin negotiations with Vladimir Putin, without including European countries, a humiliation. (A2 Televizion)
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