Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Washington had proposed the idea of Ukraine ceding land to Russia in exchange for NATO membership as efforts to bring an end to the war continue. The Americans raised the question of whether Ukraine would withdraw from Donbas if it joins NATO, remarks that Zelenskyy noted marked the first time the proposition had been raised.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine was discussing specific security guarantees from NATO and the European Union, stating that he would ask Ukrainian citizens if they accepted the terms should Western nations confirm them. Emphasising the weight of the decision, he stated that he had no right to make that choice on his own.
The development follows a meeting in Moscow earlier in the week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. During the meeting, Putin signalled that Russia would not back down on territorial demands to control parts of Ukraine and rejected the deployment of foreign peacekeeping troops in the country.
The US envoys subsequently met with Zelenskyy in Ireland on Thursday to discuss ongoing diplomatic efforts, with the trio announcing that Europe would have a voice in future peace negotiations. Kushner wrote on X that the arrangement would allow them to address broader postwar European security arrangements alongside territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dampened hopes of an agreement, stating her department was aware the issue was not discussed during talks with Witkoff and Kushner. Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov added that the Europeans are striving to join negotiations, but must decide whether they want peace or the continuation of the war.
Source: Euronews. Read the original report ↗