US negotiators suggested that Ukraine could cede parts of the eastern Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said following recent peace talks involving Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi and Ireland.
Zelenskyy said the proposal was raised during the discussions and marked the first time, in his account, that NATO membership had been linked directly to territorial concessions. He said he rejected the idea of handing Ukrainian land to Russia.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’” he told reporters in remarks released by his office. “That is why I believe NATO is back on the agenda.”
The areas under discussion were parts of Donbas that are not controlled by Russian forces, according to the Ukrainian president. He said any withdrawal would amount to ceding territory and made clear that he would not agree to it.
Zelenskyy warned that accepting such an arrangement could create wider risks for European security. “Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact,” he said, adding that proposals of this kind could lead to “wars or escalations”.
He said the arrangement would not involve Ukraine recognising occupied territories as Russian. He also ruled out committing the country to neutrality, arguing that such a move would require an amendment to Ukraine’s constitution.
“If Putin expects Ukraine’s neutrality to be enshrined, that’s not going to happen,” Zelenskyy said. “We’re not in NATO right now anyway.”
However, the Ukrainian president said he would put the question of ceding parts of Donbas to a national referendum if Kyiv received a comprehensive package from the United States and other partners.
That package, he said, would need to include security guarantees, military and reconstruction funding, and a recovery plan. “If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not?” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has long described possible Ukrainian membership of NATO as a red line for Moscow. The issue has been cited by Putin as one reason for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
