Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that Kyiv is requesting
fast-track NATO membership after Russia formally annexed four Moscow-held
regions of Ukraine.
اضافة اعلان
"We have already proven our compatibility with (
NATO) alliance
standards," Zelensky said in a video posted by the Ukrainian presidency on
social media.
"We are taking a decisive step by signing Ukraine's application for
accelerated accession to NATO," he added.
He also said that Kyiv would not negotiate with Russia -- which sent troops
into Ukraine on February 24 -- as long as President Vladimir Putin was in
power.
"Ukraine will not hold any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is
the president of the Russian Federation. We will negotiate with the new
president," Zelensky said.
His remarks come after Putin signed treaties to annex four Moscow-occupied
Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia -- at a grand
ceremony in the Kremlin.
The pro-Kremlin leaders of the annexed territories claimed the regions voted
in favour of becoming part of Russia in referendums that Western capitals and
international organisations did not recognise.
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