Ukrainian president accepts that his country may not be joining Nato after all as peace talks progress

PRESIDENT Vlodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine appears to have finally accepted that his country may not become a member of the Western military alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).

Over the last three weeks, Ukraine and its eastern neighbour Russia have been at war over the vexed issue of Nato. Russia considers Ukrainian membership of Nato as a threat to its security, as it will allow the US-led alliance to locate weapons of mass destruction close to its borders and within striking range of Russian cities.

This week, there have been a series of peace talks aimed at ending the conflict and it appears that President Zelenskyy has seen that suspending his country's application to join the alliance is the only way forward. Yesterday, he confirmed that his country should accept that it may not become a member of the US-led Nato military alliance.

President Zelenskyy said: “Ukraine is not a member of Nato.  We have heard for years that the doors were open but we also heard that we could not join. It’s a truth and it must be recognised.”

“I am glad that our people are beginning to understand this and rely on themselves and the partners who are helping us. The meetings continue and, I am informed, the positions during the negotiations already sound more realistic.”

Speaking while receiving a UK-join expeditionary force, President Zelenskyy still however, renewed his call for a no-fly zone to be established over Ukraine. This has so far been rejected by Nato as it would drag the alliance into a conflict with Russia which could end up in a nuclear war.

However, Russia and Ukraine have continued talks and according to local media reports, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said he sees some hope for reaching a compromise in the negotiations. He told the RBK newspaper that he believed there were already positions upon which the sides are close to an agreement.

Mr Lavrov said Ukraine’s political and military neutrality in exchange for security guarantees from Moscow was now being seriously discussed. While the talks and the war continue, President Joe Biden has signed an annual spending bill that contains $13.6bn in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine.

Washington  has continued to support Ukraine in nearly three weeks of Russia’s invasion, providing aid and also slamming weighty sanctions on Russia in a bid to deter President Vladimir Putin. These sanctions have failed, however, as air raids continue to hit several cities in Ukraine and about 3m people have fled the war torn country to neighbouring nations in search of safety.