Zelenskyy may consider freezing war with Russia if non-occupied part of Ukraine joins NATO

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Stock photo: Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged the possibility of Ukraine signing a “ceasefire agreement” if the Ukrainian-controlled territory is brought “under the NATO umbrella”.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Sky News; European Pravda reports

Details: Zelenskyy was asked to respond to media reports that one of US President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to end the war could be for Kyiv to give up the Russian-occupied territories in exchange for Ukraine’s accession to NATO.

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The president said that the Ukraine-controlled part of the country could be offered NATO membership to end the “hot phase of the war”, provided that the invitation to the Alliance recognises Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders.

“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. We need to do it fast. And then [as for] the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get [it] back in a diplomatic way,” he added.

Zelenskyy said the ceasefire is necessary to “guarantee that Putin will not come back” to seize more Ukrainian territory. And NATO should “immediately” secure the territory controlled by Ukraine, which is needed “very much, otherwise he (Putin – ed.) will come back”.

Background: 

• The invitation to NATO is the first point of Ukraine’s Victory Plan, which was publicly presented by Kyiv in October. At the same time, inviting a country at war and with occupied territories poses a dilemma for NATO.
• Zelenskyy’s statement on the possible freezing of the war in Ukraine came against the backdrop of the election of Republican Donald Trump as president of the United States. Trump has promised to end the Russo-Ukrainian war “in 24 hours”, although he did not specify how.
• Media reports indicate that Mike Waltz, Trump’s future national security adviser, has been considering several proposals to end the war in Ukraine.
• The US president-elect announced that he is going to appoint retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg as the special representative for Ukraine and Russia.

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