Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the only Russian official he is ready to talk to is Russian President Vladimir Putin, adding that he would meet his Russian counterpart only when Ukraine reaches a joint plan with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.
“I will meet only with one Russian, Putin” and that is when we have worked out a plan with the US, the Ukrainian president said, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, referring to the possibility of peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.
He also said that Trump told him that he could call him at any time and that the US president gave him his cell phone number.
Zelensky said among other things that Ukraine will need to double the size of its army to 1.5 million manpower if it does not join NATO.
The Ukrainian president finally acknowledged that the US is opposed to Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Alliance. He added that he believed that Washington never actually saw Ukraine as a NATO member, noting that “they are just talking about it.”
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