Zelensky names condition for Ukraine to give up NATO membership

Ukraine is ready to consider other options for ensuring security instead of joining NATO, if they have the same legal force as the guarantees provided by membership in the alliance.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

According to Zelensky, the country's security system must rest on three components: its own Armed Forces, membership in the European Union, and participation in NATO.

He emphasized that the Ukrainian army, thanks to its accumulated combat experience and the professionalism of its servicemen, is capable of strengthening European forces. At the same time, NATO membership, in his words, provides participation in a common defensive alliance and legal guarantees from allied states.

Zelensky noted that the decision on Ukraine's accession to the EU depends on European countries, whereas NATO membership requires the consent of both Europe and the United States.

If joining the alliance proves impossible, Kyiv is ready to discuss alternative protection mechanisms, but insists on their legal equivalence to NATO guarantees.

"If not NATO, then what is being offered in return? We are ready to discuss equivalent guarantees, even under a different name, provided that they have the same legal force," the Ukrainian president said.

He added that Ukraine is interested in guarantees that would not be formal promises, but a genuinely working mechanism for ensuring security.