US proposes territorial concession for Ukraine’s NATO bid

The United States has reportedly raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing its remaining troops from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed.

Zelensky said the proposal was discussed during recent US-mediated negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, describing it as the first time Washington had directly linked the country’s NATO membership to a possible withdrawal from Donbas.

“The Americans asked: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this question was raised,” Zelensky told journalists in comments released by his office on Saturday, November 14.

The United States has not officially confirmed the reported proposal.

American official told the BBC that different proposals remained under discussion and that any final agreement would require acceptance from the parties involved.

Zelensky maintained that Ukraine would not voluntarily surrender its territory.

However, he indicated that he could submit a comprehensive peace agreement to a national referendum if it included concrete security guarantees from Western partners, sufficient military support to protect the country and funding for post-war reconstruction.

The latest diplomatic discussions come against the background of a conflict rooted in decades of political and security tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.

Ukraine became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Its growing ambitions to strengthen relations with the European Union and NATO increasingly strained its relationship with Russia, which considers Ukraine strategically important to its regional security.

Tensions escalated in 2013 after then-President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned plans to sign an association agreement with the European Union, triggering widespread protests known as the Euromaidan movement.

Following his removal from power in February 2014, Russia seized Crimea and annexed the peninsula in March.

Russia also supported separatist forces in Donetsk and Luhansk, triggering years of fighting in the Donbas region.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, expanding the conflict beyond eastern Ukraine.

Moscow initially sought to capture Kyiv but Ukrainian resistance prevented Russian forces from achieving that objective.

The war subsequently developed into a prolonged conflict involving heavy fighting, widespread destruction and international military and financial support for Kyiv.

In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, moves rejected by Ukraine and condemned by the United Nations General Assembly.

Russia continues to demand territorial concessions and restrictions on Ukraine’s military and Western alliances, while Kyiv insists that any peace settlement must protect its sovereignty and provide credible security guarantees.

The latest negotiations in Abu Dhabi ended without a major breakthrough, although the parties reached an agreement in principle on a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people, according to reports.

The United States has reportedly raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing its remaining troops from the eastern Donbas region in exchange for membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed.

Zelensky said the proposal was discussed during recent US-mediated negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, describing it as the first time Washington had directly linked the country’s NATO membership to a possible withdrawal from Donbas.

“The Americans asked: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this question was raised,” Zelensky told journalists in comments released by his office on Saturday, November 14.

The United States has not officially confirmed the reported proposal.

American official told the BBC that different proposals remained under discussion and that any final agreement would require acceptance from the parties involved.

Zelensky maintained that Ukraine would not voluntarily surrender its territory.

However, he indicated that he could submit a comprehensive peace agreement to a national referendum if it included concrete security guarantees from Western partners, sufficient military support to protect the country and funding for post-war reconstruction.

The latest diplomatic discussions come against the background of a conflict rooted in decades of political and security tensions between Moscow and Kyiv.

Ukraine became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Its growing ambitions to strengthen relations with the European Union and NATO increasingly strained its relationship with Russia, which considers Ukraine strategically important to its regional security.

Tensions escalated in 2013 after then-President Viktor Yanukovych abandoned plans to sign an association agreement with the European Union, triggering widespread protests known as the Euromaidan movement.

Following his removal from power in February 2014, Russia seized Crimea and annexed the peninsula in March.

Russia also supported separatist forces in Donetsk and Luhansk, triggering years of fighting in the Donbas region.

On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, expanding the conflict beyond eastern Ukraine.

Moscow initially sought to capture Kyiv but Ukrainian resistance prevented Russian forces from achieving that objective.

The war subsequently developed into a prolonged conflict involving heavy fighting, widespread destruction and international military and financial support for Kyiv.

In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, moves rejected by Ukraine and condemned by the United Nations General Assembly.

Russia continues to demand territorial concessions and restrictions on Ukraine’s military and Western alliances, while Kyiv insists that any peace settlement must protect its sovereignty and provide credible security guarantees.

The latest negotiations in Abu Dhabi ended without a major breakthrough, although the parties reached an agreement in principle on a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people, according to Reuters.

With both sides maintaining fundamentally different positions, the proposed Donbas-for-NATO arrangement could become one of the most contentious issues in efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict in decades.

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