Zelenskyy: If Ukraine joining NATO was up to Stoltenberg, it would have already happened

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has changed his attitude towards the issue of Ukraine's membership of the Alliance and supports this decision.

Source: Zelensky in an interview to Finnish, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian journalists, as reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Our last meeting with Jens was better than all our previous meetings. But again, this is a joint decision. But I think that if the decision on [Ukraine] joining depended on Stoltenberg, Ukraine would be in NATO [by now]," Zelenskyy said.

"I think, in general, Jens has changed his position. I believe – no offence to him, I have a good relationship with him – that he has become a more decisive person. For us, for the world and for the Alliance, this is important," the president added.

The President stressed that it was not Ukraine that decided not to join NATO, it was the countries of the Alliance that hesitated to make the decision in due time.

"It was not our choice not to be in NATO. It was NATO’s choice, and the fears of some states about what would happen if Ukraine was accepted into NATO, how Russia would react. It's not very fair that no one was interested in how the average person in Ukraine would react, but everyone was interested in how Russia would react. I think that’s unfair and unjustified," the president said.

He recalled the example of Finland, which joined NATO quickly and there was no reaction from Russia.

"We are glad that Finland is in NATO. And here is your answer: first of all, everyone has realised that the best security guarantees are NATO [membership – ed.]. Here is an example of whether anyone should be afraid of Russia or not. Finland joined NATO, and this once again proves that Russia simply wanted to occupy us, and not because they were afraid that NATO was approaching their borders," Zelenskyy said.

"The fact that we are not in NATO is not because we don’t want to be, but because you do not accept us. And you have not accepted us all these years. Yes, you’ve invited us, but nevertheless... It cannot be, in a civilised world, that our life depends purely on whether we are part of NATO or not," he added.

Background: 

• On 20 April, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Ukraine on an unannounced visit for the first time since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. He held talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv, and also visited Bucha, which was under Russian occupation in February and March 2022.
• He said that the Allies are preparing to discuss Ukraine's membership and security guarantees for the country at NATO’s July summit in Vilnius, but the main issue remains ensuring Ukraine's victory in the war.

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