President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine needs security guarantees from Western countries even if the country cannot become a member of NATO at present. Zelenskyy announced this at the meeting with German Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz in Kyiv, n-tv.de reports.

In the meeting with Mertz, the Ukrainian leader reflected on French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal that "a certain contingent of troops of a certain country can be present in Ukraine until Ukraine joins NATO."

According to Zelenskyy, it is necessary to clearly know "when Ukraine will become a member of the EU and when Ukraine will be able to become a member of NATO."

The Ukrainian leader added that he will discuss this matter "in the near future" with outgoing US President Joe Biden.