Won't Join NATO In Exchange For Western Security Guarantees: Zelenskyy On Ending War With Russia

Last Updated:December 14, 2025, 18:55 IST

Volodymyr Zelenskyy drops NATO bid for Ukraine, seeking US and European security guarantees instead, ahead of Berlin talks with US envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Germany for the latest round of talks on ending war with Russia. (Zelenskyy/X)

Ahead of talks with US in Berlin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday announced that he has relinquished the ambition of joining the NATO military alliance if Western security is guaranteed.

“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," Zelenskyy said in reply to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

Reuters quoted him saying hat the US and European and other partners’ security guarantees instead of NATO membership were a compromise on Ukraine’s side.

“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," he said.

“And it is already a compromise from our part," he said, adding that the security guarantees should be legally binding.

This announcement marks a major shift for Ukraine as it had continued its fight to join NATO as a safeguard against Russian attacks and even has such an aspiration included in its constitution.

According to Reuters, this move meets one of Russia’s war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin repeatedly demanded Ukraine to officially renounce its aim to be part of NATO and withdraw troops from the about 10% of Donbas which Kyiv still controls. They even pressed for Ukraine to be a neutral country and no presence of NATO troops in Ukraine.

Reuters quoted Russian sources saying earlier this year that Putin wants a “written" pledge by major Western powers not to enlarge the US-led NATO alliance eastwards – shorthand for formally ruling out membership to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

Zelenskyy says ‘ready for talks’

The Ukrainian President on Sunday said he was ready for “dialogue" at the latest round of talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders on ending the nearly four years of war.

“The fairest possible option is to ‘stay where we are’. This is true because it is a ceasefire… I know that Russia does not view this positively, and I would like the Americans to support us on this issue," he told reporters shortly before arriving in Berlin.

AFP quoted him saying he hoped the United States would back the idea of freezing the front line in Ukraine along its current shape at their meeting in Berlin.

Trump had been pressuring Ukraine to reach an agreement after giving a peace plan last month. The plan was critised by even the European leaders who said it echoed Russia’s demands such as Ukraine ceding its crucial territory.

According to AFP, the proposal has triggered a flurry of diplomacy between the United States and Ukraine’s European allies, with Kyiv officials recently saying they had sent Washington a revised version.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy said he has not yet received response on Ukraine’s amendments. “I am receiving all the signals and will be ready for the dialogue that will begin today."

“The summit in Berlin is important. We are meeting with both the Americans and the Europeans… And today these meetings are taking place in Berlin, today and tomorrow," Zelenskyy said. “The most important thing is that the plan should be as fair as possible, first and foremost for Ukraine, because Russia started the war."

News world Won't Join NATO In Exchange For Western Security Guarantees: Zelenskyy On Ending War With Russia

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