Zelenskyy said, "When joining NATO, ceasefire negotiations are held without immediate territorial restoration."

"When joining NATO, cease-fire negotiations without immediate territorial restoration"
"The territory occupied by Russia will be recovered in a diplomatic way later"
"Zelensky suggests the possibility of a "territorial cease-fire negotiation."

[Anchor]
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has said that if NATO membership is approved, he will engage in ceasefire negotiations even if Russia does not immediately regain Ukrainian territory it has seized.

He also expressed his desire to communicate directly with U.S. President-elect Trump.

Reporter Park Young-jin reports.

[Reporter]
President Zelensky has repeatedly told British media that Ukraine's accession to NATO is the only solution to stop the war.

First of all, he suggested that a ceasefire deal could be reached if the territory currently controlled by Ukraine was taken "under the NATO umbrella."

He also stressed that a cease-fire must be guaranteed that Putin will not invade again.

He said Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory could be recovered later in a diplomatic manner.

[Volodymyr Zelensky / Ukrainian President: If we want to stop the overheating phase of the war, we need to take the Ukrainian territory we control under the NATO umbrella. It's ideal. We need to do that quickly. Then the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia can be recovered by diplomatic means.

Asked about reports that Trump's plan to end the war was for Ukraine to join NATO and Russia to have occupied territories,
The media interpreted that President Zelenskyy had for the first time ceded the territory, suggesting that a ceasefire could be reached.

President Zelensky also expressed his desire to communicate directly with President-elect Trump without interference from those around him.

Amid Russia's massive airstrikes, Ukraine has recently sent an open letter to NATO member states urging them to decide to support the "invitation to join."

It seems to be based on an urgent judgment that it is difficult to turn the tide with current troops and weapons,

Nevertheless, it seems difficult for NATO member states concerned about the escalation of conflict with Russia to immediately approve Ukraine's membership.

I'm Park Youngjin of YTN.

Edit
video: Choi Yeon-ho