Zelenskyy: Ukraine will join NATO if Trump wants it

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is convinced that US President Donald Trump can influence the issue of Ukraine's accession to NATO.

"It all depends on the United States. If Trump is ready to see Ukraine in NATO, we will be in NATO, everyone will support [Ukraine’s accession – ed.]. If President Trump is not ready to see us in NATO, we will not be in NATO," Zelenskyy stated during a meeting with representatives of the Davos International Media Council.

Zelenskyy said some countries had initially pursued a non-transparent policy towards Ukraine and had not supported its accession to NATO since the beginning.

"These were just false pretences that Ukraine would be in NATO, because decades passed and Ukraine did not become a NATO member. It was dishonest," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president stressed that the United States and Germany had a weak position on Ukraine's accession to NATO and were engaged in dialogue with Russia on this issue.

However, he thinks they have lost this dialogue because they always appealed to the fact that they once had agreements with Russia.

"I would like to equalise the level of respect for Ukraine by others. And we are fighting for security guarantees, we want to be in NATO, most NATO countries support us," he added.

Zelenskyy stressed that there are four countries that do not support Ukraine in NATO: The United States, Germany, Slovakia and Hungary.

In the interview, Zelenskyy also stated that the prospect of ending the war or achieving a ceasefire in Ukraine depends on Europe's readiness to take a tougher stance on Russia, adding that without the Ukrainian army, Europe "has no chance against Russia".

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, in an interview with European Pravda, emphasised that Ukraine will not abandon its NATO membership aspirations and will not accept alternatives to full membership.