US floated NATO membership for Ukraine in exchange for Donbas, Zelensky says

A question put in Abu Dhabi

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says US negotiators asked whether Ukraine would withdraw from the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership. He said the question came up during the latest round of peace talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi, a two-day meeting under US mediation that ended on Wednesday, 11 November, without a significant breakthrough. According to Zelensky, it was the first time the question of NATO membership had been tied to territorial concessions during those talks. He made the remarks to journalists on Friday, 13 November, after meeting European leaders in Denmark and Ireland, and his office released them on Saturday, 14 November, once an embargo lifted.

Kyiv's conditions

Zelensky says Ukraine's government is not prepared to give up territory. If Ukraine received a comprehensive package covering security guarantees, the right to a strong and well-funded army and money for reconstruction, he would put the question to a national referendum. The guarantees he described would match the level of NATO's Article 5 mutual defence clause. He told reporters he does not have the right to make that decision alone, and that Kyiv is discussing specific security guarantees from NATO and the EU. NATO membership is already a stated goal in Ukraine's constitution. Zelensky also called Putin's proposed change to Europe's security architecture dangerous, saying it could lead to new wars and that real security in Europe means the EU and NATO.

Moscow's position and the Kostiantynivka proposal

Witkoff and Kushner met Putin in Moscow on Thursday, 12 November, and Zelensky met the two US envoys in Ireland that day after their Russian talks. Putin has repeatedly rejected Ukrainian NATO membership and calls it a red line. He proposed a time-limited local humanitarian ceasefire for the city of Kostiantynivka in Donetsk region, saying Russia needed five days to clear mines so that hundreds of people could be moved to safety, and that international media, including from the United States, are to be invited as in Oleschky at the end of October. Zelensky rejected the proposal, saying it showed Russia cannot take the city by force. Both sides agreed on a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people, though the exact numbers are still being negotiated. Zelensky also said there was no progress on a ceasefire for the energy sector, a topic Witkoff and Kushner had planned to raise with Putin.

The New York Times reported that Moscow demands NATO pull its troops and bases in Eastern Europe back to their 1997 level.

Europe's role

On Friday, 13 November, EU heads of state and government agreed at an informal summit in Dublin on a negotiating team for future talks to end the war. The team will be drawn from EU institutions and the E5 countries, European Council President António Costa said. The E5 are Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Poland. Separately, US envoy Jared Kushner wrote on X about a security order built on communication, military transparency and a reduction in escalation risks.