Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted this Sunday (14), in Germany, to dropping the country’s candidacy for NATO in return for security guarantees from the West, but rejected US pressure to cede territories to Russia.
In response to journalists via WhatsApp upon arrival in Berlin – where, flanked by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he will have a meeting with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for peace negotiations in Ukraine -, Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that, since the US and some European countries have rejected Ukraine’s claim to join NATO, Kiev expects the West to provide security guarantees similar to those offered to members of the Alliance.
“These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent another wave of Russian aggression,” he maintained, quoted by the Associated Press (AP) news agency, guaranteeing that this “is already a commitment” on Ukraine’s part.
The Ukrainian President added that these security guarantees would have to be legally binding and accepted by the US Congress.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the US proposal for Ukraine to withdraw from the eastern Donetsk region and create a demilitarized free economic zone there.
“I don’t think it’s fair, because who is going to manage this economic zone?”, he stressed, asking: “If the Ukrainian troops retreat five, ten kilometers, for example, then why don’t the Russian troops retreat deeper into the occupied territories at the same distance?”
The head of state reiterated that the issue is “very sensitive” and insisted on a freeze along the current line of contact in the territory.
This Sunday’s talks in Berlin take place before a summit convened by the German Chancellor between several European leaders, community institutions and NATO on Monday.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and since then the war has cost both countries tens of thousands of civilian and military lives, according to multiple sources.