Zelenskyy says US proposed Ukraine give up Donbas in exchange for NATO membership
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
US envoys asked Ukraine whether it would be willing to withdraw its troops from Donbas if it were admitted to NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told journalists.
The Americans asked for the first time whether Ukraine would withdraw from Donbas if it became a NATO member.
"I have said repeatedly: Ukraine does not retreat and does not give its land to terrorists. The Americans asked: 'And if Ukraine is in NATO, would Ukraine leave Donbas?' This was the first time they asked that," Zelenskyy said.
He explained that Ukraine is discussing with its partners a comprehensive security package they could offer during negotiations: specific security guarantees from NATO and the EU, a strong Ukrainian army — an appropriate number of troops, weapons, and financial support for a specified period — and a Prosperity Plan backed by funding from clearly identified sources.
"If the American side confirms exactly this to us, together with our other NATO partners, then I will ask our society what it thinks: do we accept it or not? I have no right to make that decision at my own discretion. But we need specifics, which we do not have yet, and all of this is still under discussion," the president noted.
He said that Ukraine would under no circumstances recognize the occupied territories as part of Russia.
"If such a proposal is made, as president, I will engage in an open dialogue with society and say: 'Look, this is where we stand, this is how all our partners have come together, and this is how they see things moving forward.' Of course, without any recognition of the occupied territories as Russian," Zelenskyy said.
The president told US envoys that Russia cannot be trusted — its leader is simply making mediation more difficult and pushing the end of the war further away.
"When Putin says something about state borders, it certainly doesn't mean reducing Russia's territory, right? So there is no trust in the Kremlin," Zelenskyy stressed.
He believes NATO membership would reduce the likelihood of renewed aggression against Ukraine. The head of state called providing Ukraine with security guarantees modeled on Article 5 of NATO the absolute minimum.
Zelenskyy is not sure that this would definitely work, since NATO has acted in unity only once, following the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
According to the president, Ukraine could strengthen the Alliance, and the issue of membership is back on the agenda.
Earlier, media outlets reported that Russia is once again demanding that NATO withdraw its troops to the positions the Alliance held in 1997. All of this is part of its demands to revise the entire European security architecture.
Bild also reported that, to end the war in Ukraine, Russia is demanding that Finland leave NATO and that the Alliance refrain from deploying bases in the Baltic states. However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the report and began claiming that no such conditions had been put forward.
