Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said for the first time that he might be willing to agree to a ceasefire with Russia still in control of territory claimed by Kiev.
Zelensky previously insisted that only the “complete withdrawal” of Russian forces and the restoration of Ukraine’s 1991 borders would serve as a precondition for peace negotiations.
In an interview with Sky News on Friday, chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay asked Zelensky to comment on recent reports that US President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering allowing Russia to keep territory claimed by Ukraine in exchange for Ukraine becoming a NATO member.
“Ukraine joins NATO, but Russia takes control and keeps the land that it has to date. Would that be a possibility?” Ramsay asked.
Zelensky said it could potentially serve as a foundation for a ceasefire. “If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” he said.
“We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way,” he added.
Zelensky stressed that this arrangement has never been officially offered to Ukraine. He clarified that Kiev will not formally renounce claims on Crimea and four other regions which joined Russia following referendums in 2014 and 2022 respectively.
“We cannot, by law, recognize any Ukrainian territory under occupation of Russia as Russian. That is impossible. That is against the Constitution of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine applied to join the US-led alliance in September 2022. NATO has made it clear, however, that Ukraine cannot become a member until the conflict with Russia is resolved.
Moscow has insisted that Ukraine must withdraw its troops from the parts of Donbass it controls and recognize Russia’s current borders. The country must also become neutral and abandon its plans to join NATO.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO’s expansion eastward as one of the root causes of the conflict.