Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Washington never intended for his country to join NATO, Reuters reported, quoted by BNR.
"The United States never saw us in NATO... They just talked about it, but they never really wanted us in the alliance," the Ukrainian leader noted during a panel at the Munich Security Conference, explaining that this position has not changed under any White House administration.
Zelensky stressed that it would be in the common interest of the alliance for Ukraine to join, but even if this is impossible for now, he will work to establish a stronger military force in his country, calling it "NATO in home".
He noted that even taken together with the NATO brigade in Europe, the size of Kiev's army is not comparable to Russia's, concluding that additional resources will have to be found to finance military buildup in both cases.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine's Western allies should help the country have an army of 1.5 million soldiers, as this would be the only "real preventive security guarantee" against Russia, as it would match the Russian armed forces.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelensky stressed that he did not care whether the support came from the United States or Europe, as long as his country received it.
He added that if Russian President Vladimir Putin knew that Ukraine had an army of 1.5 million soldiers, he would be discouraged from invading the country again.
US Vice President J.D. Vance spoke with Zelensky on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, further details of which have not been released at this time.
Earlier, Zelensky announced that he was ready to meet face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin as soon as Kiev and its allies agree on a plan to end the war.
"I will meet only with one Russian, with Putin, but only after we have a common plan with Trump and Europe. We will sit down with Putin and stop the war. Only in this case I am ready to meet. On no other compromise platforms, "said the president of Ukraine.
He said that during their phone call on Wednesday, US President Donald Trump gave him his personal number, telling him, quote, "You can call me anytime".
"The United States wants to achieve a sustainable and lasting peace, not one that will lead Eastern Europe to conflict in just a few years," said J.D. Vance after his meeting with Zelensky.
Zelensky pointed out that this was the first, but not the last, conversation with Vance, because "we need to make more efforts to prepare a plan on how to stop Putin.".