‘If Ukraine does not join NATO, we’ll have to create NATO within Ukraine’: Zelenskyy

KYIV: US and Russian diplomats are likely to meet next week in a follow up to the Riyadh talks between the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the US secretary of State Marco Rubio, reported Russian News agency TASS.

Ahead of the meeting Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made another passionate appeal to become a part of NATO saying that if Ukraine does not join NATO they would have to create NATO within Ukraine. This comes after he indicated that he was ready to quit as Ukraine’s president if it meant Kyiv would be admitted to the NATO alliance.

“NATO is the most cost-effective option for preventing another war. It is the simplest and most logical solution. If Ukraine does not join NATO, we will have to create NATO within Ukraine, which means maintaining an army strong enough to repel aggression, financing it, producing and storing enough of our own weapons, and negotiating with our partners about their participation to deter Russia from starting another war. That’s why we are talking about a comprehensive system of security guarantees–military, economic, and political. We need to weigh everything–what is cheaper, what is more realistic, and what can be done faster. I am grateful to everyone who supports Ukraine in our work toward real security”, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took to X and wrote.

NATO is the most cost-effective option for preventing another war. It is the simplest and most logical solution.

If Ukraine does not join NATO, we will have to create NATO within Ukraine, which means maintaining an army strong enough to repel aggression, financing it, producing…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 23, 2025

He added in another post, “Security guarantees are also about economic agreements. There is a lot of media talk about this. About our work with the Americans to reach such an agreement. We all need peace–long-lasting and reliable one. And we want a good economic deal that will be part of a true security guarantee system for Ukraine and the free world. Our teams are working every day and we are making great progress. Ukraine wants a strong agreement–one that guarantees security and lays a solid foundation for our economic partnership with the United States for decades to come. Fair terms produce strong results”.

“We must all remember – Ukraine stands strong because of the heroic efforts of our soldiers and everyone supporting the front. Thank you! Ukrainians are a very strong people, and we have proven this, he concluded.

Zelensky and Trump have sparked a war of words since the Riyadh meeting. Trump had branded Zelenskyy a dictor and claimed that Ukrain had started the war. (ANI)