President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he is willing to make a concession and agree that Ukraine will never join NATO. However, he is demanding that other countries sign agreements with Kiev that resemble the NATO mutual defence pact.
“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,” Zelensky said on Sunday. “Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries – Canada, Japan – are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion.”
He called for the security guarantees to be legally binding. He said, “It’s already a compromise from our part.”
Zelensky made the remarks as President Donald Trump is pushing for an end to the war in Ukraine. While the change in Zelensky’s position meets Russia’s demand that Ukraine agree never to join NATO, the Kremlin will likely reject Kiev signing mutual defense pacts with NATO states.
Another issue in ending the war is the division between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin over territory. Moscow is demanding that Kiev cede the Donbas region and recognize the territory held by Russian soldiers in southern Ukraine to Russia. Zelensky continues to demand that Russia withdraw from all Ukrainian territory.
Trump has sent a 20-point peace plan to Ukraine. Last week, Kiev returned the proposal to Washington with a point-by-point response. Trump has said that Putin is willing to accept his peace deal, and Zelensky is holding up the process.
