Ukraine not to accept NATO invitation for only part of its territory, Zelensky says

This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who spoke during a briefing following a meeting with European Council President Antonio Costa, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The best security guarantee for us is NATO. We have economic security guarantees. And these are the two requirements, whatever future diplomatic paths to end the war may be, for us the EU and NATO are matters of principle," Zelensky stressed.

At the same time, he noted that part of Ukraine's territory cannot be invited to NATO, as this would mean automatic recognition of the occupied territories as Russian.

"Part of Ukraine's territory cannot be invited to NATO. This is an automatic recognition that all other territories are not only at risk, but all other territories are not Ukrainian, so Ukraine will never accept that. If this is an invitation, it’s only for all territories. But we understand that the 5th amendment, if you are a NATO member, cannot operate amid a war on the entire territory of Ukraine, because allies stand against the risks of being dragged into the war. Ukraine has never dragged anyone in this war. I mean regarding the allied armies,” Zelensky noted.

The head of state recalled that many different formats of Ukraine’s membership in NATO are being discussed, while noting that Ukraine has not formally received offers on any of the options from international partners.

“Any formats regarding NATO, well, frankly, now in the press and media there are a lot of insinuations and speculations about what this ‘umbrella’ could be. So we haven’t received any of these types of ‘umbrellas’, any formats from our partners,” Zelensky noted.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Today, President of the European Council Antonio Costa, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit.