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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would be willing to step down if Ukraine were granted membership in NATO.
"If (it means) peace for Ukraine, if you really need me to leave my post, I am ready," Zelenskyy said at a press conference on Sunday, the third anniversary of the Russian invasion. "I can exchange this for NATO (membership), if that condition is there, immediately," he added.
But NATO membership for Ukraine, already unlikely in the short-term, looks even more out of reach since President Donald Trump took a hard turn against U.S. support for Ukraine's defense against its devastating invasion and occupation by Russia. After Defense Secretary Pete Hogsten said NATO membership was not realistic for a negotiated settlement to the war, Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin and dispatched a team to negotiate with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia for an end to the war – without any input from Ukraine or its European allies.
Zelenskyy also had harsh words for a deal proposed by the Trump administration to gain control of the country's mineral reserves in exchange for continued U.S. support. He said the proposed deal would require Ukraine to pay back aid it was given to defend against Russia's attacks – a term he would never accept. The $500 billion cited by Trump as the total amount of aid given to Ukraine over the course of the war is also grossly out of proportion – the real amount is less than one-fifth of that, Zelenskyy said.