Ukraine has given up its ambition to join the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said ahead of talks with US envoys in Berlin.
The move marks a major change for Ukraine, which has fought to join NATO as a defense against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration enshrined in its constitution.
The decision also fulfills one of Russia’s war goals, although official Kiev has so far remained steadfast against giving territory to Moscow, which is another key demand.
Zelensky said on Sunday that security guarantees from the US, Europeans and other partners in exchange for NATO membership are a compromise on Ukraine’s part.
“From the very beginning, Ukraine’s desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the US and Europe did not support this direction,” he said in response to journalists’ questions in a WhatsApp conversation.
“So, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as from other countries such as Canada, Japan, are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion,” Zelensky added.
“And this is already a compromise on our part,” he declared, adding that security guarantees should be legally binding.
Zelensky had previously called for a “dignified” peace and guarantees that Russia would not attack Ukraine again, as he prepares to meet with US envoys and European allies in Berlin to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump to sign a peace deal that initially backed Moscow’s demands, Zelensky has accused Russia of dragging out the war through deadly bombing of Ukrainian cities and cutting off energy and water supplies.
Although the exact makeup of the meetings on Sunday and Monday has not been made public, a US official said Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were traveling to Germany for talks involving Ukrainians and Europeans.
The choice to send Witkoff, who has led negotiations with Ukraine and Russia on a US peace proposal, seemed to be a signal that official Washington saw a chance for progress nearly four years after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Zelensky has said that a ceasefire along the current front lines would be a fair option.
Russia has asked Kiev to withdraw its troops from parts of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk that Ukraine still holds.
“Ukraine needs peace on dignified terms and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. The coming days will be filled with diplomacy. It is extremely important that it yields results,” Zelensky said earlier in the X.