Zelensky announces Kyiv's abandonment of the goal of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Kyiv is abandoning its strategic goal of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia.

Zelensky made this statement while heading to the German capital Berlin, where he attended meetings with the American envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as part of the efforts to end the war with Russia.

In response to journalists' questions, Zelensky said, "From the beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, and these are real security guarantees. But some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction."

The Ukrainian President added that "Therefore, the bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States, and the guarantees similar to Article 5 of the NATO Treaty provided to us by the United States, and the security guarantees from European colleagues, and other countries like Canada and Japan, are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion."

He clarified that "This is already a compromise on our part," noting that the security guarantees must be legally binding.

Zelensky met with the American envoys in talks hosted by the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The Ukrainian President said, before Sunday's talks, that accepting the security guarantees offered by the United States and European partners and others as an alternative to Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance is a compromise on Ukraine's part.

He indicated that Ukraine, European countries, and the United States are discussing a plan consisting of 20 points, and that an agreement to cease fire will eventually be reached, noting that Kyiv is not conducting direct talks with Russia.

Zelensky mentioned that reaching an agreement to cease fire along the current contact lines would be a fair option.

He also called earlier for a peace that "preserves dignity" and guarantees that Russia will not attack Ukraine again, accusing Moscow of prolonging the war by bombing cities and energy facilities and water supply facilities in Ukraine.

The Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine officially abandon its ambitions to join NATO, and withdraw its forces from about 10 percent of the Donbas region that Kyiv still controls.

Moscow also insists that Ukraine must be a neutral state, and that no NATO-affiliated forces are allowed to be stationed on its territory.

Russian sources earlier this year said that Putin wants a "written" commitment from the major Western powers not to expand the US-led North Atlantic Alliance eastward, in a shorthand reference to excluding membership for Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other republics that were part of the Soviet Union before its collapse.