'NATO Most Cost-Effective Solution For...': Zelenskyy After Offering To Quit As President

Last Updated:February 24, 2025, 10:09 IST

In a shock announcement, Zelenskyy said on Sunday that he was ready to quit as Ukrainian President if Kyiv could join the NATO, amid pushback from the Trump administration.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy (AP Image)

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said NATO was the most cost-effective, simplest and most logical situation to prevent another war against the country, just after he offered to quit as President if Kyiv could join the Western military alliance.

As his ties with the United States are strained following US President Donald Trump’s remarks calling him a “dictator without elections", Zelenskyy on Sunday said he was ready to leave his post if it meant peace for Ukraine by joining NATO.

Taking to X, Zelenskyy said, “NATO is the most cost-effective option for preventing another war. It is the simplest and most logical solution."

“If Ukraine does not join NATO, we will have to create NATO within Ukraine, which means maintaining an army strong enough to repel aggression, financing it, producing and storing enough of our own weapons, and negotiating with our partners about their participation to deter Russia from starting another war," he said.

The Ukrainian leader stressed the need for a comprehensive system of security guarantees to defeat Russia and halt Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Kyiv. “We need to weigh everything—what is cheaper, what is more realistic, and what can be done faster," he said.

Zelenskyy Seeks Trump’s Understanding Amid Tensions

Zelenskyy said he would resign as President “immediately" if needed and wanted Trump to “understand" his position and come through with concrete security guarantees to help Kyiv defend itself against the Russian invasion.

He said progress has been made on reaching an agreement with the United States on a rare minerals deal, as a contentious US proposal that would have seen $500 billion worth of profits from Ukrainian rare minerals given to the United States as compensation for its wartime assistance to Kyiv has been taken off the table.

Zelenskyy had earlier declined a draft agreement with the US on mineral exploitation because it did not contain security guarantees and came with a $500 billion price tag. He said considering aid to Ukraine as a debt to be repaid would be a “Pandora’s box" that would set a precedent requiring Kyiv to reimburse all its backers.

This comes amid tensions between Zelenskyy and Trump after the US president decided to reopen diplomatic ties and economic cooperation with Moscow, marking a sharp change in US policy that has rattled leaders in Ukraine and Europe.

Trump also prompted alarm and anger in Ukraine this week when he suggested that Kyiv had started the war, and that Zelenskyy was acting as a “dictator" by not holding elections.

The US is also planning to submit to the UN Security Council and General Assembly a draft text calling for a “swift end" to the Ukraine conflict without making any reference to its territorial integrity, defying Ukraine and its European allies.

Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, and other top European Union officials are set to arrive in Kyiv Monday for talks with Ukraine’s government.

(with agency inputs)

Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)

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