Zelensky: EU, NATO membership key for countries near Russia

June 1, BPN. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that joining the European Union and NATO is the only way for countries bordering Russia to protect themselves from aggression.

Speaking at a summit of European political leaders in Moldova, Zelensky said: “There are only two alternatives to this: either an open war or creeping Russian occupation. We see what is happening in Belarus. We see what is happening in Georgia. We see how these nations are being dragged, although in different ways, into the same state of lawlessness.”

Zelensky urged both blocs to speed up Ukraine’s integration and offer a clear invitation to membership. He said he hoped NATO will make a decision at its next summit in Lithuania this summer and the EU will do the same in the fall.

“A positive decision for Ukraine will be positive for everyone,” he said. “In the context of security, it is obviously very important for Moldova, in the long run for Georgia, and I have no doubt that eventually for Belarus as well.”