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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said US envoys asked whether Ukraine would withdraw from Donbas in exchange for NATO membership, after talks with Putin in Moscow and Zelenskyy in Dublin.
By Hermes Vector
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Dublin to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, according to the BBC.
Zelenskyy said US negotiators raised the idea of Ukraine withdrawing its remaining forces from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for NATO membership. He told reporters: "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 repeated that Kyiv was unwilling to cede territory to Russia. He said that if he received a proposal containing security guarantees, no constraints on Ukraine's military, and funds to rebuild the country, he would put it to a referendum. He added that the proposal made him believe that "Nato is back on the agenda," but cautioned: "You have also heard Putin's signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation."
Kyiv has long sought NATO membership as a condition of any peace deal to deter future threats, while Russia has said another NATO member on its border was unacceptable. Moscow has previously proposed limits on the size of Ukraine's military, territorial concessions, and Kyiv's guaranteed neutrality as conditions of a peace deal. Ukraine has rejected these, arguing that such constraints would hamper its ability to stave off any future invasion.
Russia currently occupies roughly a fifth of Ukrainian territory, including most of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that compose the Donbas.
The US proposal touches on two core issues in the war: Ukrainian territory and NATO membership. Zelenskyy's willingness to consider a referendum shows Kyiv may be open to a comprehensive deal, but only if it includes security guarantees, military funding, and reconstruction funds.
Sources
This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.
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