Zelenskiy drops NATO bid as Germany peace talks begin

Ukraine has given up its goal of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for security guarantees from its allies as a compromise to end the war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said as peace talks got underway in Berlin.

Zelenskiy announced the concession while flying to the German capital, where he began talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as part of efforts to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War II.

This move marks a major change for Ukraine, which is trying to join NATO as a precaution against Russian attacks and has such a request in its constitution.

Zelenskiy met with US ambassadors at meetings hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. A source said he made brief statements before leaving the two sides to negotiate.

Other European leaders are also expected to hold talks in Germany on Monday.

In his statement before Sunday’s talks, Zelenskiy said that security guarantees from the United States, Europe and other partners instead of NATO membership represented a compromise for Ukraine.

“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 answer to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

“So today, the bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States, the Article 5-like guarantees that the United States gives us and the security guarantees given by European counterparts, as well as other countries (Canada, Japan), are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion,” Zelenskiy said. he said.

“And this is already a compromise on our part,” he said, adding that security guarantees must be legally binding.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine formally abandon its NATO goals and withdraw its troops from the approximately 10 percent of Donbas it still controls.

The Kremlin also said that Ukraine should be a neutral country and that no NATO troops could be stationed in Ukraine.

Russian sources said earlier this year that Putin wanted a “written” commitment from major powers not to expand the US-led NATO alliance eastward; this was shorthand for the formal denial of membership to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

Zelenskiy had previously called for an “honourable” peace and guaranteed that Russia would not attack Ukraine again.

The dispatch of Witkoff, who has led talks with Ukraine and Russia over a U.S. peace proposal, appeared to be a sign that the United States sees a chance for progress nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

Zelenskiy said that Ukraine, Europeans and the USA are looking at a 20-item plan, and at the end of it, a ceasefire will be achieved.

He said Ukraine has no direct talks with Russia.

He added that a ceasefire on existing front lines would be a fair option.

Putin hosted Witkoff and Kushner in early December, and the meeting, which the Kremlin praised as “constructive”, failed to make any major progress.