Zelensky says he told Trump that either Ukraine will join NATO or pursue nuclear weapons

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 17 that he told Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in their meeting in September that Ukraine needs to be part of NATO, or it would pursue nuclear capabilities to protect itself.

Zelensky was speaking from Brussels, where he presented his victory plan to EU leaders.

"Either Ukraine will have nuclear weapons, which will serve as protection, or it must be part of some kind of alliance. Apart from NATO, we do not know of such an effective alliance," Zelensky said that he had told Trump.

"I believe Trump heard me and said that it was a fair argument," he added.

Zelensky also invoked the Budapest Memorandum, in which Ukraine agreed in 1994 to give up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the U.S., and the U.K.

The agreement resulted in Ukraine losing its nuclear shield, Zelensky argued, while other powers that have maintained their nuclear arsenal have not suffered from a full-scale war.

At the same time, Zelensky emphasized that he would choose NATO membership over pursuing nuclear weapons.

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The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova