Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is prepared to give up its long-term goal of NATO membership if it receives Article 5–style bilateral security guarantees from the United States and comparable commitments from European and other partners. The statement followed a lengthy Brussels meeting hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The move responds to a persistent Russian demand and comes amid controversy over a circulated 28‑point plan that critics say reflected Russian priorities. Negotiations are ongoing and both sides have exchanged competing proposals.
Zelensky Willing To Drop Ukraine's NATO Bid In Exchange For Article 5‑Style Western Guarantees
Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he is prepared to abandon Ukraine’s long-standing aspiration to join NATO if Kyiv receives equivalent security guarantees from Western countries as part of ongoing peace negotiations with Russia.
The announcement followed a more-than-five-hour meeting in Brussels hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where Zelensky met with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, both affiliated with former President Donald Trump. Before the meeting, Zelensky spoke to journalists via WhatsApp about the concession and framed it as a pragmatic step to secure Ukraine’s safety.
“From the very beginning, Ukraine’s conditions – or perhaps more accurately, our ambition – was NATO membership,” Zelensky said. “And that would have provided real security guarantees. Some partners from the United States and Europe did not support this direction.”
Zelensky said Kyiv would renounce its NATO bid in return for bilateral, Article 5–style guarantees from the United States and similar security commitments from European partners and other allies such as Canada and Japan. Article 5 refers to NATO’s collective-defense clause — the type of reciprocal protection Kyiv is seeking in bilateral form rather than full NATO membership.
“These security guarantees for us provide an opportunity to prevent another outbreak of Russian aggression,” Zelensky added, calling the offer “a compromise” by Ukraine.
Context And Controversy
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly cited Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as a security threat and one of the justifications for Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Moscow has consistently demanded that Kyiv abandon its membership bid as a condition in peace talks, and Zelensky’s statement is viewed by some observers as a sign talks may be shifting toward positions Moscow favors.
The negotiations have come under heavy scrutiny following reports about a controversial 28‑point plan circulating among Trump-aligned advisers. Several U.S. senators said Senator Marco Rubio told them the plan reflected Russian priorities, and Reuters later reported that elements of that plan were based on a Russian-authored paper submitted in October. Kyiv has since submitted its own counterproposal.
Talks are set to continue, and Witkoff said after the Brussels meeting that “a lot of progress was made,” without providing specifics.
This development marks a potentially significant shift in Ukraine’s negotiating position: trading a long-held geopolitical objective for legally binding, state-level security assurances intended to deter future aggression.
