Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said US negotiators asked for the first time whether Ukraine would withdraw from the parts of the eastern Donbas region it still controls in exchange for NATO membership. He said Kyiv would not surrender territory, and Washington has not confirmed his account.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” Zelenskyy told reporters in remarks released by his office on Saturday, the BBC reported.
Zelenskyy rules out ceding land
Zelenskyy spoke to journalists on Friday after visits to Denmark and Ireland, following two days of US-brokered talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Abu Dhabi. His comments were embargoed until Saturday, AFP reported.
He said the discussion showed that “NATO is back on the agenda” for Ukraine. He also said Kyiv would not recognize any territory seized by Russian forces as Russian, and rejected writing neutrality into Ukraine’s constitution, according to the Associated Press.
Zelenskyy said that if Ukraine received a comprehensive package — security guarantees from NATO and the EU, a strong and well-funded army, and money for reconstruction — he would put the question to a referendum. “I have no right to make that decision on my own,” he said, adding that Ukraine needs specifics it does not yet have, CNN reported.
No confirmation from Washington or Moscow
The US has not confirmed Zelenskyy’s comments. A US official told the BBC that “many ideas continue to be discussed but any final deal will have to be agreed to by both parties.” The Guardian’s war briefing noted that neither Washington nor NATO had commented on the suggested swap.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova appeared to play down the idea, saying that as far as her department knew, the issue was not discussed in talks with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow, Euronews reported.
Any offer would also not be Washington’s alone to make. CNN noted that admitting a new member requires the unanimous consent of all NATO states, and one analyst said it was “not a firm offer at this point.” Russia has long called Ukrainian NATO membership a red line.
Talks end without a breakthrough
Kushner and Witkoff met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy separately on Thursday after the Abu Dhabi talks ended with no breakthrough, AFP reported. All sides agreed that European officials should be included in future negotiations. Eastern Herald earlier reported on the US envoys’ meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy.
Russia occupies roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including most of Donetsk and Luhansk, which make up the Donbas. The BBC reported that Moscow says it will not agree to a ceasefire until a final peace deal is in place, one that would include Ukraine ceding the parts of the Donbas Russian troops have not captured, as well as Crimea.
Zelenskyy also said Russia rejected an energy-target ceasefire at the talks, and described Putin’s proposed “humanitarian mission” to Kostyantynivka as a ploy to get Ukrainian forces to leave the embattled city, according to AFP.
