Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says U.S. negotiators asked whether Kyiv would withdraw its troops from the parts of the eastern Donbas region it still controls if Ukraine were admitted to NATO.
By Stefan J. Bos
Zelensky said it was the first time American negotiators had raised the question. He added that he would put any such deal to the Ukrainian people if Washington and other NATO allies confirmed the terms, because he had no right to decide on his own.
Speaking in Dublin, Zelensky made the case for Ukraine’s membership in NATO, saying its military already helps defend Europe.
“Ukraine already is a defending line of Europe,” he told reporters. “We are part of Europe, and we are part of the security architecture already.”
He said admitting Ukraine, a country with a strong army, would change Europe’s security arrangements and expressed confidence that European partners would welcome the move. “Everybody’s very happy if we will be in NATO,” Zelensky stressed.
Europe’s role in peace talks
U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met Zelensky in Dublin, Ireland, after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Witkoff said Putin had agreed to let European representatives join the next round of negotiations.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry cautioned that, as far as it knew, European participation had not come up at the Moscow meeting.
And Putin has signaled that Russia is sticking to its territorial demands and opposes the deployment of foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine.
Moscow’s objections to NATO expansion and the presence of weapons near its borders have raised concerns in Europe that the talks could reopen broader questions about the continent’s security.
Russia–Ukraine prisoner exchange
Despite these differences, Kushner pointed to progress toward a prisoner-of-war exchange.
“A lot of people are being impacted by this war and to return these thousands of people to their families will be a very nice milestone to achieve,” Kushner added.
Kyiv has welcomed the prospect of a prisoner exchange.
Yet a central question for Ukraine remains what guarantees its allies would provide to deter another Russian attack if a peace agreement is reached.
Source: www.vaticannews.va
