Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to yesterdayʼs statement by newly elected US President Donald Trump that he "can understand" the feelings of the Russian Federation, because Russia opposed Ukraineʼs accession to NATO, and Biden allegedly violated this.
Ukraine has the right to demand serious and strong security guarantees from the world, which constantly claims leadership, and from countries that claim peace in the world, Zelensky emphasized at a meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
According to him, this depends not only on the US, but also on the allied position in Europe.
"Remember, Ukraine was told that Patriot systems can and do exist only in NATO countries? Well, either we have been in NATO for a long time, or we should not draw any conclusions. It was the same with Patriot, it was the same with missile systems and other weapons. Now we need to work and do everything so that Ukraine receives security guarantees worthy of our people that could stop Putin," Zelensky said.
He emphasized that the fact that some countries were previously against Ukraineʼs accession to NATO is one of the reasons for the current war.
"Because they werenʼt afraid that Ukraine would be with someone. That is, Putin understood that no one would stand up for Ukraine. He understood that his army was bigger, he could destroy us. But the Ukrainian army, it amazed the whole world," the President of Ukraine said.
The day before, at a press conference, Trump said that he was dissatisfied with Bidenʼs policies.
“Russia has been saying for years that NATO can’t interfere in Ukraine. It was like it was set in stone. And then Biden broke that and said no, they should be able to join NATO. Then Russia would have someone right on their doorstep. I can understand their feelings about that,” Trump said.
He once again emphasized that if he had been the president of the United States, this war would not have happened.
- The first US president to support Ukraine on its path to NATO was Republican George W. Bush in 2008.
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