14 Feb, 17:15

Zelensky admits that Biden did not promise Kiev NATO membership

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated in an interview with Breitbart News that Ukraine's entry into NATO is currently unlikely, though theoretically possible in 25 years

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Washington has never officially promised Ukraine accession to NATO, nor had any wish to see it there, according to Vladimir Zelensky.

"I have heard about NATO so many times from the American side - from the administration of [the previous US president, Joe] Biden and now from President [Donald] Trump. During my first call to President Biden, my first question was, 'Are we going to be in NATO?' The answer was 'No.' Frankly, the US has never seen us in NATO. It only talked about it; it didn't want us in NATO," Zelensky stated at the Munich Security Conference.

He added that he "never heard at the level of the US president" any promises regarding Ukraine's NATO membership.

"It's not a question directed at President Trump; it's a question about US policy or the White House policy. The policy is that Ukraine is not in NATO," Zelensky explained.

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated in an interview with Breitbart News that Ukraine's entry into NATO is currently unlikely, though theoretically possible in 25 years. Two days prior, Hegseth argued at a regular meeting of the Western contact group in Brussels that a return to Ukraine's 2014 borders was an unrealistic goal, effectively ruling out the possibility of Ukraine's admission to NATO. US President Donald Trump later remarked that Hegseth's statements accurately reflected Washington's position. He also noted that the West's desire to integrate Kiev into NATO, particularly the constant statements made by the previous US president, Joe Biden, was one of the reasons why Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine.

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