Ukraine not looking to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, says Zelenskyy
The decision to relinquish the joining of NATO could mark a major shift for Ukraine which has fought the war with Russia to join NATO as a safeguard against Moscow’s attacks and such aspiration is also included in its constitution.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron at 10 Downing Street, in London. (Photo: AP)
Ukraine has decided to drop its ambition of joining military alliance NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees which could act as a compromise to end the nearly four year old war with Russia, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of scheduled talks with US officials in Berlin to discuss a peace deal, Reuters reported.
The decision to relinquish the joining of NATO could mark a major shift for Ukraine which has fought the war with Russia to join NATO as a safeguard against Moscow’s attacks and such aspiration is also included in its constitution. Though it meets one of the goals for which Russia launched its tirade against Ukraine, Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding any territory to Russia.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy said that the security guarantees that the US, European and other partners are offering instead of NATO membership were a compromise on Ukraine’s side.
I am already in Germany. Today’s agenda includes a meeting with the American negotiating team. We are focusing on how to reliably guarantee Ukraine’s security so that the experience of the Budapest Memorandum and Russia’s invasion are never repeated. We are counting on… pic.twitter.com/Ml5ZZ2Zodx
In response to questions from reporters, Zelenskyy said, “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,” Reuters reported.
“Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, 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,” the Ukrainian president added.
Zelenskyy added that the security guarantees should be legally binding and that it’s a “compromise” from the Ukrainian side.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly asked Ukraine to denounce its ambitions of joining NATO and withdraw troops from about 10% of Donbas region which Kyiv still administers. Moscow has also said that Ukraine should be a neutral country and Kyiv cannot become a country where NATO troops can be stationed.
The Ukrainian, US and European officials are poised to hold a series of meetings in Berlin to finalise a peace deal to end the war with Russia, Zelenskyy said.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron at 10 Downing Street, in London. (Photo: AP) 
