President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has proposed that parts of Ukraine he controls should be brought under NATO to prevent a ‘hot phase’ of war.
Sky News asked him whether he would accept NATO membership, but only on territories currently held by Kiev.
Zelensky said he would. But this is only possible if NATO membership is first offered to all of Ukraine within internationally recognized borders.
He said in a wide-ranging interview that Ukraine could try to negotiate “in a diplomatic way” the return of territory currently controlled by Russia.
But the proposal is very theoretical. Zelensky is not offering any new proposals. This was a TV interview, not a diplomatic forum, but he is sending a signal.
It is highly doubtful that NATO would consider such a move.
“We have never considered such a proposal in Ukraine, because no one has officially proposed it,” Zelensky said.
He said NATO should offer membership to the entire country, including areas currently controlled by Russia.
“You can’t just invite one part of the country,” the president said, according to a translation provided by Sky News. “Why? Because this way we can recognize that Ukraine is just a territory of Ukraine and the other is Russia.”
He said many had suggested a ceasefire, but that it was too risky without a mechanism to prevent a renewed Russian attack.
He said only NATO members could provide that kind of guarantee.
Ukraine’s president has already said the war could end next year if Ukraine’s allies show enough resolve.
According to the report, discussions on the so-called West German model, which would offer the divided nation NATO membership, have been ongoing in the West for more than a year.
However, no formal proposal has been made yet.
Zelensky, meanwhile, was keen to make it sound like he was willing to engage with any proposals President-elect Donald Trump is considering.
“I want to share ideas with him and hear his thoughts,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said he would send a team in the coming days to meet with Trump officials, including retired Gen. Keith Kellogg, the president-elect’s recently appointed special envoy to Ukraine.
Last April, General Kellogg co-authored a plan called America First: Russia and Ukraine. The plan was to freeze Ukraine’s front lines and pressure Kiev and Moscow to come to the negotiating table.
Future U.S. military assistance to Ukraine will depend on Kiev’s willingness to participate in peace talks.
But if a ceasefire occurs, the United States will continue to provide military support and “strengthen (Ukraine’s) defenses to prevent Russia from advancing further and attacking again following a ceasefire or peace agreement.”
According to the proposal, Ukraine’s accession to NATO would be delayed for an extended period of time.
For Zelensky, this raises an important question. What security guarantees is the Trump administration willing to provide?
“There is no true independence for Ukraine without NATO,” Zelensky said. “Because he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) will come back,” he claimed.
There are still significant differences between Zelensky’s peace plan and earlier Trump policies.
But the Ukrainian leader is doing his best to speak out constructively by engaging in a cease-fire and painful territorial sacrifices (at least in the short term), conscious that there are still no signs of an equivalent from Moscow.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Eight years later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and occupied eastern Ukraine.
But it is also worth noting that Putin has so far given no indication that he has given up his desire to completely conquer Ukraine.
The idea that he would be willing to allow any part of Ukraine to join NATO is currently inconceivable.
All signs so far suggest that NATO intervention is off the charts at all.
Additional reporting by Sofia Ferreira Santos.
