The United States has proposed to Ukraine to join NATO, but in exchange for the cession of Ukrainian territories, the entire Donbass, including the part not yet occupied by the Russians .
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this while speaking to journalists in Kiev.
"The US offered us the transfer of Ukrainian territories in exchange for NATO membership," he said.
Ukrinform added that Zelensky himself stated that "if our partners offer us concrete security guarantees in exchange for our withdrawal from Donbass, which include, in particular, Ukraine's membership in NATO and the EU, I will raise this issue before public opinion ."
"I have repeatedly stated that Ukraine will not surrender and will not cede its territories to terrorists," Zelensky said, according to Ukrinform. " The Americans asked me: 'And if Ukraine joined NATO, would it withdraw from Donbass? '"
This is "the first time" such an offer has been made. "We are discussing with our partners a comprehensive security package they can offer us during the negotiations: specific security guarantees from NATO and the EU, a strong Ukrainian army, which means an adequate number of soldiers, weapons, financial support for a certain period of time, and the Prosperity Plan, a recovery plan supported by funds from clear sources. If the American side confirms this to us, along with our other NATO colleagues, then I will ask our society's opinion: do we accept it or not? I don't have the right to do so at my own discretion. But we need details, which are not available at the moment, and all of this is subject to discussion," Zelensky stated.
However, the president reiterated that he would not recognize the occupied territories as Russian, even in the event of a withdrawal : "Of course, without any recognition of the occupied territories by Russia. Yesterday I told my American counterpart: 'When Putin talks about state borders, it's certainly not a reduction of Russian territory, right? That's why there's no trust in his comrade in the Kremlin.' And the way he's behaving and what he's saying only complicates the entire American mediation and delays the end of the war."
