MOSCOW, September 24. /TASS/. Kiev’s plan to end the conflict, which Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky intends to put forward to US President Joe Biden, includes streamlined membership in NATO, Andrey Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said in an address to the New York-based Council on Foreign Relations.
When asked if Zelensky’s plan involved fast-tracked NATO accession, he said "yes."
"A strong America needs a strong Euro-Atlantic community with Ukraine as its strongest military muscle," he pointed out, adding: "Trans-Atlantic security will benefit from Ukraine’s rapid accession to NATO and the European Union." According to Yermak, in the long term, bilateral agreements can never compare with the effectiveness of Article Five of the NATO Treaty.
Yermak did not did not elaborate on other provisions of the plan, only saying that there was a military and diplomatic part.
He pointed out that the military part was aimed at ensuring that Kiev had an advantage on the battlefield through Western aid. Yermak specifically mentioned the possibility of using long-range weapons for "significant strikes," the timely delivery of military aid packages, investment into Ukrainian defense production and the rejection of all red lines.
Yermak went on to say that the diplomatic part of the plan was based on Zelensky’s so-called 10-point formula. The Ukrainian Presidential Office head once again rejected all alternative proposals. Steps should be taken to ensure both Ukraine’s growing resilience and Russia’s economic containment, he said.
Zelensky’s plan
Zelensky said earlier that he had a plan to end the conflict. He noted that he would discuss the details with Biden as some provisions depended on Washington’s decisions. Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with Zelensky in Washington on September 26. Meanwhile, Kiev has repeatedly rejected peace initiatives.
Russia’s authorities have repeatedly expressed their readiness to engage in talks with Ukraine on resolving the conflict. However, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s decree banning talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin was the main obstacle to negotiations, along with Ukraine’s initiatives "revealing that Kiev is detached from reality."