NATO Membership in Exchange for Donbas? Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Proposal Under Review

EPA-Yonhap News

Ukraine is reportedly considering a proposal to cede eastern territories to Russia in exchange for joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as part of talks to end the war between Russia and Ukraine.

According to AFP and other news outlets, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, speaking to reporters, that “the U.S. side asked, ‘What if Ukraine joined NATO? Would Ukraine then withdraw from Donbas?’”

Zelensky said he had reaffirmed to the U.S. side Ukraine’s longstanding position that its military had no intention of withdrawing from eastern territories. However, he said the matter could be put to a referendum if Ukraine received a sufficient security assistance package.

“I think the question of NATO membership has returned to the agenda of the talks to end the war,” Zelensky said. “This is the first time this issue has been raised.” He added, “This is an extremely difficult discussion.”

Russia insists that Ukraine must hand over the entire Donbas region. Ukraine, meanwhile, says the current front line should be frozen and a ceasefire declared.

It has not been confirmed whether Russia has agreed to the U.S. proposal. Russia has so far reacted with extreme sensitivity to Ukraine’s potential NATO membership.

According to a report by The New York Times (NYT) on Friday, Russia argued during the current talks to end the war that NATO should withdraw its troops and bases from Poland and the three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

“True security in Europe means the European Union (EU) and NATO,” Zelensky said. “There is no other security framework in Europe.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.