Zelensky: Ukraine Should Have Held Referendum on NATO Before Adding Membership Goal to Constitution

Ukrainian plans to join the alliance have been a major bone of contention in the region, with Russia offering security guarantee proposals, suggesting that NATO refrain from expanding eastwards. The bloc, however, declared that it won't abandon its "open-door" policies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Thursday that his country should have held a referendum on the NATO membership issue before adding it as a priority to the nation's Constitution. At the same time, he claimed that Paris and Berlin should do more to help Kiev in joining the alliance.

"I think that France and Germany need to do more to bring Ukraine closer to joining NATO. They themselves must be interested in this issue and be sure of it", he told the press.

According to him, Russia is not the only country that opposes Ukraine's NATO ambitions, as several European nations share this sentiment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with US President Joe Biden over the telephone in his office in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, 9 December 2021.

© AP Photo / Ukrainian Presidential Press Office

Russia has been systematically demanding that NATO stop its "mindless" eastward expansion, which occurred despite the promises given in the 1990s. To stop the recent escalation around Ukraine, Moscow forwarded its security proposals to NATO and the US, suggesting a halt to the bloc's expansion near Russia's borders.