Ukrainian President Vlodomyer Zelenskyy said he is ready to step down from his post in exchange for NATO membership for his nation. The president said he is ready to leave the post if the nation’s security is guaranteed.
Tymofiy Mylovanov, President, Kyiv School of Economics, shared a video of Zelenskyy’s interview with BBC where the President said, “ Won’t recognize $500B or any debt to the U.S., because these were grants, agreed with Biden and the US Congress, not Trump. Trump is not forever, but Ukraine needs forever peace. He is ready to step down in exchange for NATO or peace. Trump is not forever, but the Russian threat is permanent. We don’t care that Putin won’t attack while Trump is in the office. We need peace and guarantees that will outlast Trump and Putin.”
While reacting to Trump’s calling him ‘dictator’, Zelenskyy said he is not offended by dubbing him ‘dictator’ as he is an elected leader. He said one would be offended by ‘dictator’ if the individual is a real dictator, he is not. Trump had called Zelenskyy a dictator without elections.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy stated, “I had a productive meeting with @SPE_Kellogg–a good discussion, many important details. I am grateful to the United States for all the assistance and bipartisan support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. It’s important for us–and for the entire free world–that American strength is felt. We had a detailed conversation about the battlefield situation, how to return our prisoners of war and effective security guarantees.”
“Ukraine has sought peace since the first second of this war. We must and can ensure that peace is strong and lasting–so that Russia can never return to war. Ukraine is ready for a strong, effective investment and security agreement with the President of the United States. We have proposed the fastest and most constructive way to achieve results. Our team is ready to work 24/7. Success unites us all. Strong Ukraine-U.S. relations benefit the entire world. I thank General Kellogg for the joint work to achieve important results,” he added.
On the other hand, Trump had accused Zelenskyy of persuading the United States to invest billions of dollars in a war he believed could not be won, questioning the allocation of resources and Europe’s lack of equal financial contribution.