Germany's Scholz: Ukraine security guarantees need to be different from Nato member status

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday said Ukraine and its allies were still "very far away" from being able to secure peace in the country but added any future Western security guarantees to Ukraine needed to be different from the status of European NATO members.

"Given the current situation, it is not about establishing a membership ... We all have to focus on how we as individuals can support Ukraine," Scholz said at a news conference at the second meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) in Moldova.

Asked on possible security guarantees towards the country, Scholz added: "They must be designed in such a way that they give Ukraine the security it needs against the danger of being attacked, that they also stabilise Ukraine at the same time, ..., and of course it is always part of the security guarantee that it is taken seriously."

Earlier on Thursday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance and asked NATO members to take a clear decision on whether to admit Ukraine.