Not admitting Ukraine is Nato’s mistake, says President Zelenskyy

In an interview, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine is not a “weak state” and its addition would make Nato stronger.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that it is a mistake to not let Ukraine join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato), the Fox News reported. President Zelenskyy added that Ukraine would be a beneficial addition to Nato.

"It’s hard for us to talk about Nato because Nato doesn't want to admit us," Zelenskyy said. "I think it's a mistake because if we join Nato, we make Nato much stronger.”

He added, "We are not a weak state. We are not proposing to make us stronger at the expense of Nato...We are an addition, we are the locomotive. I think we are one of the important components of the European continent."

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Nato membership for Ukraine was one of Russia's stated reasons for invading its pro-Western neighbor in February. Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not want Ukraine to join NATO, the transatlantic alliance created at the start of the Cold War to protect Europe from the Soviet Union.

But after over a month of war with Russia, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy said he was prepared to discuss a commitment from Ukraine not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine's security.

Zelenskyy added that he has told US President Joe Biden that he would like to see the United States included in a security agreement that would provide long-term support for Ukraine to address the possibility Russia would to invade again in the future.