International RUSSIA-UKRAINE CRISIS What's Hot

‘Say Openly You’re Scared Of Russia…’: Zelenskyy Takes A Jibe At NATO

S Sahoo March 22, 2022

1 minute read

New Delhi, Mar 21: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday again claimed that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was ‘afraid’ of Russia, as Moscow’s invasion of his country continued, showing no signs of abating. “NATO should either say now that they’re accepting us, or openly say that they are not accepting us as they are scared of Russia, which is true,” The Kyiv Independent quoted Zelenskyy as saying, in an interview to Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster.

“And then, we need to calm down and say, okay, NATO member countries can provide us security guarantees without us being in NATO. That’s where the compromise exists, that’s where the end of the war is,” Zelenskyy said further.

Zelensky: “And then we need to calm down and say – ok, there are NATO member countries that can provide us security guarantees without a membership in NATO.”

Source: Zelensky’s interview to Suspilne, a Ukrainian public broadcaster.

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 21, 2022

Experts cite Ukraine’s ambition to be a NATO member as one of the factors which led to Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a go ahead to the ongoing invasion. However, in recent days, Zelenskyy seems to have accepted his country will not be a member of the military alliance.

“I have cooled down on this question (joining NATO) a long time ago after realising that it is not prepared to accept Ukraine. The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia,” he told ABC News earlier this month.

Notably, Russia launched invasion of its neighbour on February 24. President Vladimir Putin, who approved the offensive, has repeatedly described it as a ‘special military operation.’