News Desk :
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday that if his country had been admitted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance earlier, then Russia would not have invaded the country.
“If we were a NATO member, a war wouldn’t have started. I’d like to receive security guarantees for my country, for my people,” Zelensky told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on “GPS,” adding that he was grateful for the aid NATO has provided since the invasion began. “If NATO members are ready to see us in the alliance, then do it immediately because people are dying on a daily basis.”
“I requested them personally to say directly that we are going to accept you into NATO in a year or two or five, just say it directly and clearly, or just say no,” Zelensky said. “And the response was very clear, you’re not going to be a NATO member, but publicly, the doors will remain open,” he said.
‘I’m ready for negotiations’ with Putin, but if they fail, it could mean ‘a third World War’
Zelensky also said that he’s “ready for negotiations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin but warned that if they fail “that would mean that this is a third World War.”
“I’m ready for negotiations with him. I was ready for the last two years. And I think that without negotiations we cannot end this war,” he told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.
“I think that we have to use any format, any chance in order to have a possibility of negotiating, possibility of talking to Putin. But if these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third World War,” he added.
Zelensky has urged more negotiations in recent days as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its fourth week. In a video message posted Saturday, he called for talks “without delay,” warning that otherwise Russia’s losses would be “huge.”
“We have always insisted on negotiations. We have always offered dialogue, offered solutions for peace,” he said. “And I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. It’s time to meet. Time to talk. It is time to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine.”
Zelensky has previously said that his priorities in the talks are clear: “The end of the war, security guarantees, sovereignty, restoration of territorial integrity, real guarantees for our country, real protection for our country.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities accused Russian forces of bombing a school in Mariupol.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russia’s siege of Mariupol as a “war crime”.
Mariupol’s city council said Russian troops have forcefully deported several thousand people.
The UN said at least 902 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and almost one in four have been displaced. Russia says it used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the second time in Ukraine.
