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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was willing to consider giving up occupied territory as part of a diplomatic deal that would allow his country to join NATO , but stressed he would never accept a peace deal negotiated by the United States with Russia without Kyiv's participation.
Zelensky said in an interview with the American NBC network - broadcast today, Sunday - that his country will never recognize Russia's sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian lands, but he said that giving up lands could be discussed within the framework of joining NATO.
The Ukrainian president thanked US President Donald Trump and other American leaders for their support for his country, but stressed that "no leader in the world can really make an agreement with (Russian President Vladimir) Putin without us."
Zelensky said in the interview conducted on Friday on the sidelines of his participation in the Munich Security Conference that he would never accept "any decisions between the United States and Russia regarding Ukraine." He added, "This war in Ukraine is against us, and these are our human losses."
The Ukrainian president stressed that he still believes in the possibility of his country's victory in this war that has been ongoing since February 2022.
Speaking about the possibility of starting negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, Zelensky called on European allies to participate in the negotiations, and warned of the risks that NATO might face if Russia is not deterred or if the United States withdraws from the alliance.
He pointed out that it is very difficult for Ukraine to survive without US military aid.
Zelensky said that Russian President Vladimir Putin, who the US president called a few days ago, "does not want any peace, but I think he is afraid of Trump who can push him into peace negotiations."
Meanwhile, the Financial Times quoted a source close to the Ukrainian president as saying that Kiev had not been invited to the US-Russian talks scheduled to be held in Saudi Arabia.
Trump has repeatedly stressed that he is working to end the war between Moscow and Kiev as soon as possible, and he believes that Ukraine "may become Russian one day."