Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was no longer ‘desperate’ to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in an interview broadcast by ABC News.
Opening hopes for peace, Zelensky said he was ready to compromise on the status of the two pro-Russian provinces, Donetsk and Luhansk, which President Vladimir Putin had previously declared independent.
He added that he acknowledged that NATO was not ready to accept Ukraine because they were afraid of controversial matters and confrontation with Russia.
Speaking about NATO membership, Zelensky said that he did not want to be a president of a country who was willing to kneel and plead for something.
The war in Ukraine had erupted after Russia opposed its neighboring country’s participation in NATO, an alliance created to protect Europe from the Soviet Union.
Entering its second week, the attack has caused the destruction of hundreds of facilities and left millions of people homeless.
It also prompted most Western countries to drop economic sanctions on Russia resulting in a sharp spike in commodity prices thus further raising concerns over inflationary pressures around the world.
