Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed he would step down if his country was allowed into NATO or if it resulted in a peace deal with Russia during a news conference on Sunday (February 23) via the New York Post.

Zelensky, 47, who has served as his country's president since 2019, was asked about his willingness to resign after President Donald Trump put pressure on him to or at least have Ukraine hold new elections.

"Yes, I am happy, if it is for the peace of Ukraine," Zelensky said.

The former entertainer claimed it was never his "dream" to remain in office for another five-year term.

“If you need me to leave this chair, I am ready to do that, and I also can exchange it for NATO membership for Ukraine,” he said.

Zelensky has been a fixture during Russia's invasion of the neighboring Ukraine that was initially launched in 2022. The Ukrainian president has made several trips to Washington, D.C. and the U.S. government has provided $66 billion in military aid since the war was launched, which Trump has clawed back on since his new administration began in January.

Zelensky was an ally of former President Joe Biden, but his relationship with Trump has been far more contentious, with Trump referring to him as a "dictator" one day after meeting with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia.

“A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account last Wednesday (February 19). “In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do.”

Zelensky claimed that elections in Ukraine were untenable as the country remained at war with Russia with 8 million residents displaced and servicemembers unable to vote.

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