Amidst Russia’s offensive in Ukraine intensifies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via a government interpreter earlier in a televised interview to foreign media answering over Ukraine’s pursuit of NATO membership said NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine.

“I have cooled down regarding this question a long time ago after we understood that NATO is not prepared to accept Ukraine. The alliance is afraid of controversial things, and confrontation with Russia,” Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said.

Further offering for a diplomatic path to de-escalate soaring tensions, the Ukrainian President said that Ukraine is open for discussion over the status of the two Ukrainian breakaway provinces- Donetsk and Luhansk.

President Zelenskyy said the two-breakaway province “have not been recognized by anyone but Russia, these pseudo republics. But we can discuss and find the compromise on how these territories will live on.”

“What is important to me is how the people in those territories are going to live who want to be part of Ukraine, who in Ukraine will say that they want to have them in.” President Zelensky added.

“So the question is more difficult than simply acknowledging them,” the president said.

NATO rejects Zelenskyy’s no-fly zone appeal

With Russia intensifying its ‘military-operations’ against Ukraine, earlier the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to set up no-fly zone over Ukraine- the appeal however explicitly rejected by the organization. “We have a responsibility as NATO allies to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

However, expressing strong displeasure over NATO’s decision, the Ukrainian President said it had given Russia ‘green light for the further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages.

Amidst the growing call over the implementation of a no-fly zone over Ukraine, White House Press secretary Jen Psaki said, “A no-fly zone requires implementation. It would require essentially the US military shooting down Russian planes and prompting a direct war with Russia- the exact step that we want to avoid.”

Ukraine-Russia holds third round of peace talks

Earlier on Monday, March 7, 2022, Russia and Ukraine held the third round of peace talks with the Ukrainian delegation indicating small-positive progress in improving the logistics of humanitarian corridors in Ukraine.

“The third round of negotiations has ended. There are small positive subductions in improving the logistics of humanitarian corridors…Intensive consultations have continued on the basic political block of the regulations, along with a ceasefire and security guarantees,” said Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak.

However, the Russian chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow’s expectations have not been met during the peace talks. “We hope that we will be able to make a more significant step forward next time,” the Russian media quoted Medinsky saying.