Zelensky is open to the idea of NATO accepting Ukraine without its occupied territories.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky does not rule out the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO without the temporarily occupied territories by Russia.

He mentioned this during an interview with American podcaster Lex Friedman.

In particular, Friedman asked him how the president views the idea of Ukraine joining NATO minus the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson regions, and Crimea.

“The legislative invitation to NATO is extended to [all] Ukraine, and we do not recognize all other territories of Ukraine as [occupied], but NATO can operate in the parts controlled by Ukraine. Can this be negotiated? I am confident – yes. It is a small success for us, but if we see a diplomatic way to end the war, it is the first (security guarantee. – Mind),” Zelensky stated.

“The second is the weapons package. I am not ready to publicly disclose what is (included in this package. – Mind). Everything is written down. And President Trump knows this; there are no secrets for him. It depends on the will of the United States. Not only them, because part of the EU will also provide [assistance]. Unity is also required for this package,” the president emphasized.

“In any case, NATO means strong security guarantees. We will not use the weapons package if a ceasefire is in effect. But we must have it. Not as it was before, with all due respect to the USA and the [Biden] administration, but I do not want the situation to repeat itself as it was with Biden. I am asking, please, for sanctions now. Weapons now. And then we will see if they will start. If we had weapons, Putin would not have been able to occupy such a large territory,” the head of state explained.

Background. Recall: in an interview, Zelensky stated regarding negotiations with Russia that “this will only be possible after my meeting with Trump.” The president said that if Trump agrees to a ceasefire without providing Ukraine with serious security guarantees, he will lose to Putin.

The Ukrainian president recounted how in 2019, during the Normandy format, he tried to negotiate with Putin for a truce and the exchange of prisoners. “The Russians simply stopped answering the phone,” he said.