US negotiators have raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing from its eastern Donbas region in return for NATO membership during discussions aimed at ending the war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said. Describing it as the first time the proposal had been brought up, Zelensky maintained that Kyiv was unwilling to surrender its territory.
Speaking to reporters after the latest round of US-mediated peace talks in Abu Dhabi, Zelensky said he would consider putting the question to a referendum if Ukraine received a comprehensive security package. This, he said, would have to include firm security guarantees, a strong and adequately funded Ukrainian military, and financial assistance for the country's reconstruction.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” Zelensky said in remarks released by his office on Saturday.
He indicated that the possibility of NATO membership had brought the alliance back into discussions on a potential settlement. However, he acknowledged that reaching an agreement would be particularly difficult given Russian President Vladimir Putin's stated position.
“That is why I believe NATO is back on the agenda. But you have also heard Putin’s signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation,” he said.
Zelensky says Ukrainians must decide on territorial concession
In a separate account of his remarks, Bloomberg reported that Zelensky would seek the Ukrainian public's opinion if Washington formally confirmed the proposal in coordination with other NATO partners.
“If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not? I have no right to make that decision on my own,” he said.
The Ukrainian president's comments underline Kyiv's insistence that any discussion involving territorial concessions cannot be decided unilaterally. His stated conditions include credible security guarantees, the ability to maintain a well-equipped and adequately funded army, and resources to rebuild the country.
Russia has continued to demand Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donbas, while Kyiv has resisted giving up territory. The question of control over the eastern region remains one of the biggest obstacles to a negotiated settlement.
Abu Dhabi talks produce no major breakthrough
Russia and Ukraine held their first US-mediated trilateral talks in nine months in Abu Dhabi on November 10 and 11, as Washington intensified efforts to find a way to end the war.
The two-day discussions were the first such negotiations since February. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the meeting as “very productive”, while Zelensky characterised the discussions as “constructive and quite substantive”.
The talks covered territorial questions, security arrangements and wider issues concerning Europe's future security framework. However, the sides did not announce a major breakthrough on a ceasefire or the territorial dispute.
One outcome was an agreement in principle on a large-scale prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Discussions also brought broader European security arrangements into focus, although the two countries remained divided on the central terms of a peace settlement.
The war, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has now continued for four-and-a-half years. It has killed hundreds of thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians, according to analysts and humanitarian organisations.
Despite renewed diplomatic engagement, the future of Donbas, Ukraine's security guarantees and the possibility of NATO membership remain among the most contentious issues facing negotiators.