Zelenskyy: Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons or join NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about one of the topics he discussed with US presidential candidate Donald Trump. They discussed the need for Ukraine to join NATO.

RBC-Ukraine reports this with reference to the president's press conference.

“I spoke with Trump about NATO. Because there were different signals in the media about the attitude towards NATO and Ukraine in NATO. I gave the example of the Budapest Memorandum. I think this is a clear example,” Zelenskyy explained.

He reminded that Ukraine had the Budapest Memorandum, and the signatories to it were the nuclear powers - the largest states in the world, which, according to the president, have influence and nuclear weapons.

“Among these countries, there were definitely big players with nuclear potential. Why was it a condition for Ukraine to give up nuclear weapons? The very large volume that Ukraine had at that time. To give up nuclear weapons is why this document, and therefore the partners who are there, guarantee the territorial integrity and sovereignty of an independent Ukraine within the internationally recognized borders of 1991. And if Russia has violated this document, even though it was the guarantor of this memorandum, then how can we believe in this document? And how can we believe in all the partners who guaranteed the preservation of our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the head of state said.

The president then explained that this document simply does not work. Just as other documents signed with the Russian Federation do not work.

“Do the agreements of other major partners with Russia work? They do not work. That is, these were not only agreements between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but between Ukraine and all its partners. So, in general, all these agreements did not work. Which of these big countries, all the nuclear powers, have suffered? All of them? No. Only one - Ukraine. Who gave up nuclear weapons? All of them. No. Only one - Ukraine. Who is at war today? Ukraine. It turns out that way,” he said.

In conclusion, the President of Ukraine explained that there are two ways out for Ukrainians in this situation.

“That's why I told him in a conversation with Donald Trump: Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons and then it will be our defense. Or we must have some kind of alliance. Apart from NATO, we don't know any effective alliances today. NATO countries are not at war today. NATO countries are not at war. People in NATO countries are all alive, thank God,” he emphasized.

That is why, according to Zelenskyy, Ukraine is currently choosing NATO over nuclear weapons.

“We choose NATO. Not nuclear weapons. We choose NATO. And I believe that Donald Trump heard me. He said: you have a fair argument. I don't want to go deeper into a dialog with Donald Trump. Because it was between me and him. But I said that we talked about NATO. And it was exactly as I said. I gave arguments and he agreed with my arguments,” the president summarized.

Author - Dmitriy Levchenko, 18/10/2024