Washington asks Kyiv about ceding Donbas in exchange for NATO
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Zambian Observer, Bénin Web TV, La Nouvelle Tribune and L’essentiel
US negotiators raised with Kyiv the idea of Ukraine joining NATO in exchange for withdrawing its forces from the parts of Donbas still under its control, according to the Zambian Observer. Volodymyr Zelensky says the idea came up in talks aimed at ending the conflict with Moscow.
Volodymyr Zelensky listed the conditions he would set for such an offer: security guarantees, no restrictions on his army, and funding for reconstruction. He would submit any concrete proposal to the population by referendum, without having announced that he would accept a withdrawal from Donbas. He also said he could not decide alone: if NATO and the EU confirm specific security guarantees, he would ask Ukrainians for their opinion.
According to Zelensky, it was the first time US negotiators had raised this question. US officials had until then ruled out Ukrainian NATO membership; he now believes this option is back on the table, while stressing how difficult it is to negotiate with Vladimir Poutine. Kyiv has long sought to join NATO, which it sees as a bulwark against a new attack after any peace agreement.
Moscow opposes this option and demands that Ukraine remain neutral, with a cap on the size of its army, constraints that Kyiv refuses because they would weaken its defence. Donbas comprises Donetsk and Luhansk, most of which is held by Russia. In February, Zelensky had already spoken of demands from Washington and Moscow aimed at having the Ukrainian army leave this area entirely.
