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US negotiators floated Ukraine leaving the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, Zelensky says
Developing
- What happened
- Zelensky said US envoys asked for the first time whether Ukraine would withdraw from the Donbas if it joined NATO.
- Why it matters
- US officials had previously said NATO membership was off the table; Zelensky says the idea puts it “back on the agenda”.
- What’s next
- Zelensky said he would put a full package of guarantees, an unrestricted army and rebuilding funds to a referendum; Moscow’s demands show no sign of shifting.
How this story developed
- 13:30First report
- 13:302nd source
- 13:30Confirmed
- 13:30First reportFrance 24
- 13:302nd sourceBBC News World
- 13:30LatestConfirmedWas: Single source
Full story
A first-time question
US negotiators have raised the idea of Ukraine withdrawing its remaining forces from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for NATO membership, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks released on Saturday, France 24 and the BBC reported.
“The Americans raised a question: “What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?” This was the first time this had been raised.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, BBC News World(translated)
His comments followed visits by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow, for talks with Vladimir Putin, and then to Dublin, where they met Zelensky on Thursday, the BBC said. France 24 said they also came after the latest round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi.
Kyiv’s conditions
Zelensky repeated that Ukraine was not willing to give up its territory. If it received a proposal with security guarantees, no limits on its army and money to rebuild, he said, he would put it to a referendum. He said the US idea made him believe that “NATO is back on the agenda”, but cautioned that Putin’s signals made it “an extremely difficult conversation”, the BBC reported.
“Real security in Europe means the EU and NATO. That’s it. There is no other security in Europe.”
Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, France 24(translated)
A symbolic concession
Russia occupies roughly a fifth of Ukraine, including most of Donetsk and Luhansk, the two regions that make up the Donbas, the BBC noted. Giving up the small part Kyiv still holds there would be a modest concession on the ground but a symbolically large one, because it would mean accepting the Donbas as Russian.
Russia has said another NATO member on its border is unacceptable, and has demanded territory, limits on Ukraine’s army and neutrality. Comments by Putin and Kremlin officials suggest Moscow’s position has not moved, the BBC said. US officials had earlier said Ukrainian NATO membership was off the table, while Kyiv has long sought membership as a condition of any peace deal to deter future attacks. Zelensky has previously spoken of retaking Russian-held land in four regions and Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.