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The Ukrainian president considered this Thursday that it is “a mistake” to leave the country out of NATO, when, “in practice, it is already part” of the Atlantic Alliance and warned that he is still waiting for the fulfillment of the commitments of the last two summits.

“It would be a mistake to leave Ukraine politically outside the Alliance when, in practice, it is already part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO]”said Volodymyr Zelensky, at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the organization’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

The president of Ukraine thanked all the support provided by NATO countries since February 24, 2022, the beginning of the Russian invasion, but said that the country is still waiting for promises from the past. “We want to fulfill the commitments agreed at the summits in Lithuania and Washington,” Zelensky stressed.

“We do not need nuclear weapons because we have the support of NATO”

Volodymyr Zelensky was asked about the victory plan he presented to end the war and the alleged lack of unity among the countries of the Atlantic Alliance to accept it, and when he was about to answer, Mark Rutte interrupted and said that there was unity among the 32 countries of the political-military bloc. “If Vladimir Putin believes that we are not united, he is wrong“said the secretary general.

Regarding a statement he had made during the morning, at the European Council, on nuclear weapons, which was not clarified, Zelensky assured that Ukraine “will not produce nuclear weapons”.

“What I said is that many years ago, in Budapest, it was decided that Ukraine would not have nuclear weapons and, in exchange, would have security guarantees. This did not happen and at the time that was determined by countries like Russia, China and the United States of America,” he explained. “I have no alternative to NATO,” he added.

China, Iran and North Korea: “Disturbances of the peace in NATO’s backyard”

Mark Rutte considered that “the consequences [da guerra na Ucrânia] spread throughout the world” and the Russian invasion showed that “even China, North Korea and Iran can be a problem for Euro-Atlantic security.”

“HE China became a decisive facilitator of the Russian offensive. against Ukraine,” said Rutte, also accusing the regimes of Pyongyang and Tehran of “fuel the war machine”from Russia.

“The largest conflict since the Second World War in Europe cannot be fueled without consequences,” he added, repeating an expression from his first intervention as Secretary General of NATO, two weeks ago.

“Putin likes war, he likes this world and he will want to protect it, and that is why we have to put an end to it”

A week ago, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, stated that the Ukraine’s entry into NATO would have “a great cost”. Asked about the Slovak ruler’s statements, Volodymyr Zelensky responds briefly: “I hope his country does not know the true cost of Vladimir Putin’s anger.” Furthermore, the Ukrainian head of state says that if NATO membership does not materialize, then it is certain that the remaining European countries will face the same scenario that Ukraine is currently experiencing, “because Putin will never stop“.

“Putin likes war, he likes this world and he will want to protect it, and that is why we have to finish it”Zelensky concluded, before correcting himself and stating that we actually have to “stop this behavior” from the Russian leader.