US floated idea of Ukraine swapping land for NATO membership, Zelensky says

The United States floated the idea of Ukraine ceding the eastern Donbas region to Russia in exchange for NATO membership during recent talks, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Zelensky told journalists Friday that US negotiators had put the question and that it was the “first time” such a proposal has been raised. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has long coveted the region, while he has cited possible NATO membership for Ukraine as a reason for launching his full-scale invasion in 2022.

Much of the Donbas is controlled by Russia, although Moscow’s grinding ground offensive in the region has largely stalled.

“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” said Zelensky.

He stressed that Ukraine would not give up territory but said if he received a “comprehensive security package” – which would include a strong Ukrainian army and guarantees from NATO and the European Union – he would put a proposal to the public.

“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. But we need specifics, and we don’t have them yet.”

Former US Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor told CNN’s Jessica Dean that finally entering NATO could be the security guarantee Ukraine needs to accept a ceasefire.

However, the offer isn’t exactly the Washington’s to make, Taylor pointed out: bringing a new country into the NATO alliance requires the unanimous consent of all other member states.

“Every NATO member state has a say. Most would agree. There may be, however, a couple of nation member states in NATO who would not agree,” Taylor said. “So it’s not a firm offer at this point.”

US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday. The trilateral discussions were mediated by Trump administration envoys – US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – and marked the first talks involving both parties in months, although they ended without a breakthrough.

Kushner and Witkoff then went on to meet both Zelensky and Putin.

Without referencing the NATO membership proposal the Ukrainian president said was floated, Kushner said that “several new ideas emerged from these discussions and are now being explored,” in a social media post Saturday.

“NATO will remain a critical pillar of European security,” Kushner said, adding that Trump would “only support arrangements that strengthen Ukraine’s and Europe’s security.”

Zelensky said that during the Abu Dhabi talks the US team wanted to discuss a new security framework for Europe, a notion he suggested was a ploy by Russia to shift the balance of power in Europe and the world. “I believe the Russians want to redistribute influence in Europe first and foremost,” he said.

Zelensky has said that the idea of a new European security infrastructure could potentially be dangerous, and should only be discussed after first a ceasefire and then an end to Russia’s war with Ukraine is negotiated.

The Ukrainian leader welcomed the agreement that future peace negotiations may now include representatives from European countries, a move announced by the US envoys although the Kremlin has not fully backed the idea.

European involvement has been resisted by Moscow, meaning that for nearly two years, Europe – now Ukraine’s largest backer – had been effectively sidelined in the peace talks.

“The main thing is that Europe will be there, and now Europe needs to decide and then agree with us on exactly who that will be,” Zelensky said.

Also in his comments to journalists on Friday, Zelensky questioned whether Elon Musk’s SpaceX was being honest about ongoing restrictions on Ukraine’s use of its Starshield system. According to Zelensky, restrictions persist along the front line and in Russian-occupied territories, impacting the operation of Ukrainian drones.

SpaceX has denied imposing any new restrictions, after earlier restrictions to Ukraine’s access to the service were lifted in October.

“The restrictions have now been in place for five days. They say it is some kind of technical issue. We do not believe that is the case,” Zelensky said.