NATO is the Cheapest Security Guarantee for Europe, USA and Ukraine
‘For us and for everyone, NATO is the cheapest security guarantee. The cheapest for us. The cheapest for Europe. The cheapest for the United States. And the cheapest, in fact, for Russia,’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with NBC News.
‘If we are not in NATO, it means that we will build NATO in Ukraine. Otherwise, we do not recognise security guarantees,’ he added.
In the interview, the President of Ukraine spoke about Russia's threat to NATO and Europe, the unacceptability of a peace agreement without Ukraine's participation in the negotiations, US President Donald Trump's influence on Putin, the importance of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and cooperation with the United States on rare earth metals.
To ensure Ukraine's continued security in a non-NATO environment, the country will need a powerful missile weapons package, a large army, as well as finance and investment to maintain its defences on the border with Russia, Zelenskyy said.
He noted that the deployment of missiles on Ukrainian territory would protect our country from a repeat of the scenario when Russians invaded and occupied part of Ukrainian land before the West began to supply serious weapons.
In addition, he said, Ukraine will need a powerful army.
‘If we are not in NATO, then, as I said, (the army - ed.) should be commensurate with the Russians. I don't think we are talking about the same number, but the appropriate one,’ the President of Ukraine said.
Zelenskyy clarified that the country would need at least more than a million people, hundreds of aircraft and a lot of other weapons that would need to be attracted as Western aid to deter further Russian aggression. Therefore, according to him, Ukraine's membership in NATO will be cheaper for everyone - both for Ukraine and for Western countries.
In any case, Zelenskyy stressed, Russia must be aware that it will be confronted by a strong army, and this will be a powerful psychological signal to Putin.
In addition, in order to maintain such an army, finance and investment will be needed, Zelenskyy continued. In this context, he noted that both the United States and European countries can invest in Ukraine in gas and mineral production, as well as in other areas of the economy.