Zelensky expressed readiness to exchange Belgorod for NATO membership

Ukraine is ready to exchange Belgorod for NATO membership, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

So he answered the journalist’s request to comment on the proposal to exchange part of the territories of Ukraine for a peaceful settlement of the conflict and joining the North Atlantic Alliance. “We are ready to exchange Belgorod for our NATO membership,” he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a commentary for RIA Novosti suggestedthat “apparently, he overdosed.”

On August 15, the head of the NATO Secretary General’s office, Stian Jenssen, expressed the opinion that Ukraine could give up part of the territories in favor of Russia in exchange for membership in the alliance. At the same time, the official recalled that Kyiv, according to NATO, must independently decide on what conditions negotiations with Moscow should be conducted. He also announced “significant” movement on the issue of Ukraine’s future membership in NATO, noting that all countries are interested in not repeating the conflict.

August 16 Jenssen named the wrong idea he had voiced. He stated that his opinion on this matter was part of a “broader discussion” about scenarios for the development of the conflict in Ukraine. “I shouldn’t have said that. It was wrong,” he said.

During the July summit in Vilnius, NATO member countries agreed on the conditions for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Kyiv will be sent an invitation to join after all the conditions are met and the unanimous consent of all members of the bloc is reached. As noted, the “formal” conditions for joining the alliance will be softened for Kyiv, which will allow it to shorten the process of joining.

There were no clear dates for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Prior to this, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said that Ukraine could not be accepted into the alliance before the end of the conflict.