US negotiators have raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing from its eastern Donbas region in exchange for NATO membership during discussions to end the war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, describing it as the first time the proposal had been raised.
Speaking to reporters after the latest round of peace talks in Abu Dhabi, Zelensky reiterated that Kyiv was not prepared to give up its territory, reported news agency Reuters.
However, the Ukrainian leader said he would put the question to a referendum if Ukraine received a comprehensive security package, including security guarantees, a strong and adequately funded Ukrainian army, and funds for reconstruction.
‘Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’
“The Americans raised a question: “What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?” This was the first time this had been raised,” Zelensky told reporters in remarks released by his office on Saturday.
He said the possibility of NATO membership had brought the alliance back into discussions, but acknowledged that reaching an agreement would be difficult given Russian President Vladimir Putin’s position.
“That is why I believe NATO is back on the agenda. But you have also heard (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation,” Reuters reported.
In a separate report, Bloomberg quoted Zelensky as saying that he would seek the Ukrainian public’s opinion if the US formally confirmed the proposal along with other NATO partners.
“If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not?” Zelenskyy said. “I have no right to make that decision on my own.”
Russia and Ukraine held their first US-mediated talks in nine months on Tuesday, as Washington stepped up efforts to find a way to end the war. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as “very productive”, while Zelensky called the discussions “constructive and quite substantive”.
The two-day meeting was the first round of such talks since February. The discussions come amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has lasted four-and-a-half years and killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, according to analysts and humanitarian organisations.