According to AP, Zelenskyy made comments to journalists on the 21st of October that were embargoed for the following day. He indicated that, while France, Britain and Italy had expressed support for Ukraine joining NATO, Germany remained sceptical.
Zelenskyy, amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine at full scale, recently revealed his five-point “victory plan” to allies. This includes Ukraine’s invitation for NATO and removing restrictions to long-range attacks inside Russia using weapons supplied by Western countries. Germany does not support both of these points.
Zelenskyy stated that
“The German side has a skepticism about our NATO membership – that’s a truth,” he said. He also noted their stance had softened in comparison to previous positions.
AP reports that the Ukrainian president expressed his hope for a more positive reaction after the US election held on 5 November. Zelenskyy explained the current US caution is due to electoral considerations.
“The United States is focused on the elections now, and I think that any sharp remarks from the US today could be inappropriate or risky.”
According to Zelenskyy, major partners are cautious about their victory plans during the election season due to possible Russian reactions.
“They understand that we can destroy them with this package,” he said.
The president dismissed media reports that suggested Ukraine would exchange occupied territory for NATO membership. He did note, however, that such leaks could reflect partners’ unspoken thoughts.
According to AP Zelenskyy outlined possible scenarios for reducing war’s intensity. He suggested that agreements on halting the attacks on energy infrastructure, and Black Sea shipping lanes, could signal the end “hot phase” of the war, though military targets and front-line combat would continue.
The Ukrainian leader also stressed his country’s commitment towards non-nuclear Status, explaining Ukraine’s NATO ambitions:
“We gave up [the nuclear weapons], but we got nothing back.” We only got a full-scale conflict and many casualties. Today, we only have one option, which is NATO membership for Ukraine.
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