Ukraine has indicated its readiness to relinquish its pursuit of NATO membership in exchange for firm security assurances, as part of efforts to broker a peace deal that would end nearly four years of conflict with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered to abandon Kyiv’s NATO ambitions during a five-hour meeting in Berlin over the weekend with U.S. officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
The proposed shift marks a significant departure from Ukraine’s longstanding goal of joining the Western military alliance, whose Article 5 clause compels members to treat an attack against one as an attack against all. For years, NATO membership was viewed as Kyiv’s route to meaningful security guarantees.
Fielding questions from journalists on Sunday in a WhatsApp chat, Zelenskyy described the offer as a compromise, acknowledging that several Western partners had resisted Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO. He emphasized that bilateral security guarantees—specifically those resembling NATO’s Article 5 from the United States, as well as commitments from European partners, Canada, and Japan—could offer Ukraine protection against future Russian aggression.
Despite this overture, Ukraine’s prospects for joining the alliance had been increasingly remote, with opposition from several NATO members, including Slovakia and Hungary, as well as concerns among key allies about deepening tensions with Russia.
Moscow has been outspoken in its opposition to NATO’s eastward expansion, citing it as a justification for launching its “special military operation” against Ukraine in 2022.
Kyiv maintains that robust security guarantees must form part of any peace settlement, rather than NATO membership. However, this remains a contentious issue in ongoing negotiations with Russia, which opposes the participation of Ukraine’s allies in any peacekeeping role within the country.
Talks over a draft peace agreement are continuing this week. According to Reuters, presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn said that President Zelenskyy would make a statement regarding the negotiations after their conclusion.
