During five hours of talks in Berlin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to abandon Kyiv’s goal of joining NATO if it brings peace to the country, and the talks will continue on the 15th of December, Reuters reports.
US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said that significant progress was made. Jared Kushner also met with Zelensky, but no details were given about the meeting.
Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said that the Ukrainian president would report on the talks on the 15th of December, when they were concluded. Lytvyn added that officials were discussing prepared documents.
Before the meeting in Brussels, Zelensky offered to abandon efforts to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees. This marks a significant change in Ukraine’s position – until now it has considered membership in the alliance as protection from Russian attacks, and a clause on joining NATO is also included in the country’s constitution. In addition, the refusal to join NATO also satisfies one of the demands made by Russia.
In a post on the X, Witkoff announced that the representatives discussed the 20-point peace plan in depth, and significant progress has been made, but the talks will continue on the 15th of December.
The participants in the talks were received by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who made brief remarks before both sides left.
It is expected that leaders of other European countries will also arrive in Germany on the 15th of December.
In response to questions from journalists, Zelensky noted that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO meant real security guarantees, but some partners in the United States and Europe do not support this direction.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine formally abandon its plan to join the alliance and withdraw its troops from parts of the Donbas region still under Kyiv’s control. Ukraine must also maintain neutrality and no NATO troops should be stationed on its territory. Sources in Russia reported this year that Putin wanted written assurances from Western leaders that NATO would not expand eastward, which would rule out Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and other former Soviet republics becoming members of the alliance.
Asked about the suitability of businessmen Witkoff and Kushner to lead peace talks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Trump’s decision to send envoys was a good sign. He added, however, “It’s certainly anything but an ideal setup for such negotiations. That much is clear. But as they say, you can only dance with the people on the dance floor.” Regarding Ukraine’s offer to abandon its membership in the alliance, Pistorius said that Ukrainians already have bitter experience with relying on security guarantees. In 1994, Kyiv gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for territorial guarantees from the United States, Russia and Britain.
The German defense minister noted that previous experience left open the question of how feasible Zelensky’s statement would be and what the preconditions were. He stressed that this concerned the territorial issue, the involvement of Russia and others, and added that security guarantees alone, especially without serious US participation, would be quite worthless in themselves.
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