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Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a joint news conference with the new EU president Antonio Costa in Kyiv.

He told reporters there is “still time” for the US to convince “sceptics” in Europe that Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO. 

He said that any invitation to join must apply to all of Ukraine’s territory – but accepted that NATO’s defences can’t apply to occupied areas while fighting continues.

Ukraine has consistently called to be allowed into the defensive alliance – to protect itself from future Russian aggression – but members fear it would lead to a wider east-west war.

Costa is visiting Ukraine on his first day in office – having replaced Charles Michel on Friday. 

Five things we learned from Zelenskyy interview with Sky News

Here’s a round-up of the five key takeaways from Sky chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay’s interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

NATO protection for part of Ukraine?

Asked about NATO, Zelenskyy said “no one has offered” Ukraine membership, but he suggested that if an invitation was extended to the parts of the country that his military controls, this could end the “hot stage” of the war.

This would be under the condition that the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine’s internationally-recognised borders – including Crimea and areas in the east of the country currently occupied by Russia.

He appeared to accept that occupied Ukraine would fall outside of such a deal for the time being, and that their possible return would be negotiated diplomatically at a future date.

Working with Trump

Zelenskyy said he has not spoken to Donald Trump since September, but added he wants the pair to exchange ideas.

“We had a conversation. It was very warm, good, constructive… It was a very good meeting and it was an important first step – now we have to prepare some meetings,” he said.

‘People more important than land’

Zelenskyy said he finds it “difficult” to talk about soldier morale, amid reports it’s low.

He spoke of the primary importance of the Ukrainian people – over its territory.

“This war (is) for independence of the people, not of the land,” he said. “The land is very important, it’s a part of identity. But the people are the most important.”

Draft age

Zelenskyy brushed off a question about the conscription age in Ukraine, after recent suggestions it should be lowered to 18 to ease the manpower shortage.

“I believe we have a lot of soldiers, but the limitation is that, frankly, we must save as many lives as possible,” he said.

“And if in European or American offices there is an idea that we need to do something differently about the draft age, I want to just ask our partners to do their part of the job, and we will deal with our job.”

Willing to talk to Putin

In a big development, Zelenskyy suggested he would be open to speaking with Vladimir Putin.

But he said: “Not to give him a chance to give us an ultimatum… because he’s a killer, and he is a terrorist, and he is alone.”