President Zelensky: The Russian demand for NATO to return to the 1997 borders is an attempt to change the European security architecture. According to the Ukrainian president, Russia is looking for security guarantees not only for itself but also for a separate agreement with NATO or the US, which will consolidate its vision of European and global security. President Zelensky believes that this is a redistribution of influence and a fundamental change of the entire security system, instead of just a search for guarantees of non-aggression. "They say, 'If you want security guarantees for Ukraine, then we also want them for Russia. It is important to understand what Russia actually means by this. It's not just Ukraine that refrains from hitting them; For them, it's a much broader and specific issue," Zelensky explained. He added that it is too early to discuss Russia's demands before the war against Ukraine ends and security guarantees are established for Kiev. "I don't know all the details, but it is impossible to discuss any global security guarantee for Russia while it is not clear how - and under what conditions - its war against Ukraine will end, and before we know what security guarantees we will have ourselves. We must first resolve the issues surrounding this war, and only then seek answers to the questions raised by Russia based on its perceptions and expectations regarding security," he noted. President Zelenskiy emphasized that decisions regarding the withdrawal of NATO infrastructure or the reduction of the alliance's presence can only be made by the NATO member states themselves - not by Russia or Ukraine. He added that "every withdrawal, every step back in the field of security, represents a sign of weakness for the alliance."