Zelensky Says US Raised Idea of Donbas Withdrawal Tied to NATO Membership
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said US negotiators had floated the idea of Ukraine withdrawing its remaining forces from the Donbas in exchange for membership in NATO. He said the US had asked a question that he described as new to the talks: "What if Ukraine joins Nato? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?" According to BBC, Zelensky said this was the first time the idea had been raised.
The Donbas is a region in eastern Ukraine. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is a Western military alliance whose members agree to defend one another against attack. Membership for Ukraine has been a long-running question in its relations with the West, and US officials had previously said that Ukrainian membership in NATO was not on the table.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to Dublin on Thursday to meet Zelensky. The day before, they had held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Zelensky said the US proposal led him to believe that "Nato is back on the agenda."
He also said he would put any proposal of this kind to a referendum, a public vote, if it contained three things: security guarantees, meaning commitments to protect Ukraine from future attack; no constraints on the size or operation of Ukraine's military; and funds to rebuild the country.
