President of Ukraine admits deployment of foreign troops in the country until it joins NATO
9 December 2024 15:37
On Monday, during a joint press conference in Kyiv with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed the idea of deploying foreign troops in Ukraine until the country joins the NATO military alliance. This was reported by Reuters, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“A military contingent of a country could be present in Ukraine as long as it is not part of NATO. But this requires a clear understanding of when Ukraine will become a member of the EU and when it will become a member of NATO,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.
Reuters reminds that Ukraine, which made efforts to receive an invitation to join NATO, has insisted throughout the war on receiving security guarantees that would make it impossible for Russia to invade again after the cessation of hostilities.
As you know, in February, French President Emmanuel Macron raised the possibility of European countries sending troops to Ukraine, which caused controversy in Europe.
“Even if we are invited (to NATO), what will happen then? Who will guarantee our security? We can think about this and work on Emmanuel Macron’s proposal,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said about such discussions.
The Ukrainian leader told reporters that he intends to call outgoing US President Joe Biden in the coming days to discuss NATO membership.
“He is the current president, and in many ways this issue depends on his opinion,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
At the same time, according to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it makes little sense to discuss this with Donald Trump before he takes office.
As you know, Russia is demanding that Ukraine abandon its NATO ambitions and views Kyiv’s membership in the alliance as an unacceptable security threat.
Trump’s team is also not very enthusiastic about the idea of Ukraine’s rapid accession to NATO.
