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The Ukrainian president says Kyiv could drop its long-held ambition of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ukraine has indicated it is prepared to drop its long-held ambition of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said ahead of meetings with US envoys and European allies in Berlin.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy described the proposal on Sunday as a concession by Kyiv, after years of pressing for NATO membership as the strongest deterrent against future Russian attacks. He said the United States, European partners and other allies could instead provide legally binding security guarantees.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cFrom the very beginning, Ukraine\u2019s desire was to join NATO; these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the US and Europe did not support this direction,\u201d Zelenskyy said in response to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.<\/p>\n \u201cThus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries \u2013 Canada, Japan \u2013 are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it is already a compromise from our part,\u201d Zelenskyy added, stressing that such guarantees must be legally binding.<\/p>\n The shift would mark a significant change for Ukraine, which has long sought NATO membership despite Moscow viewing the alliance\u2019s expansion as a threat.<\/p>\n While the move aligns with one of Russia\u2019s stated war objectives, Kyiv has continued to reject demands to cede territory.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said he was seeking a \u201cdignified\u201d peace and firm assurances that Russia would not launch another attack, as diplomats gathered to discuss what could become Europe\u2019s deadliest conflict since World War II. He also accused Moscow of prolonging the war through sustained attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure.<\/p>\n The talks come amid pressure from US President Donald Trump to reach a settlement. Trump\u2019s envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner on Sunday arrived in the German capital city of Berlin for discussions involving Ukrainian and European representatives.<\/p>\n The decision to send Witkoff, who has previously led negotiations with both Kyiv and Moscow, suggested Washington saw scope for progress.<\/p>\n Zelenskyy said Ukraine, Europe and the US were reviewing a 20-point plan that could culminate in a ceasefire, though he reiterated that Kyiv was not holding direct talks with Russia. He said a truce along current front lines could be considered fair, while noting that Russia continues to demand a Ukrainian withdrawal from parts of Donetsk and Luhansk still under Kyiv\u2019s control.<\/p>\n Despite diplomatic efforts, Russian attacks have continued, leaving thousands without electricity in recent strikes. Ukrainian officials say Moscow is deliberately targeting the power grid to deprive civilians of heat and water during winter.<\/p>\n Fighting has also intensified in the Black Sea. Russian forces recently struck Ukrainian ports, damaging Turkish-owned vessels, including a ship carrying food supplies. An attack on Odesa set grain silos ablaze, according to Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba. Zelenskyy said the strikes \u201chad no \u2026 military purpose whatsoever\u201d.<\/p>\n Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned against further escalation, saying the Black Sea should not become an \u201carea of confrontation\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone needs safe navigation in the Black Sea,\u201d Erdogan said, calling for a \u201climited ceasefire\u201d covering ports and energy facilities. Turkiye controls the Bosphorus Strait, a vital route for Ukrainian grain and Russian oil exports.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Ukrainian president says Kyiv could drop its long-held ambition of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees. Ukraine has indicated it is prepared to drop its long-held ambition of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said ahead of meetings with US envoys and European allies in Berlin. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5412,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Recommended Stories <\/h2>\n
Pressure to reach a settlement<\/h2>\n
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