Ukraine-Russia
Donbas for NATO membership! Zelenskyy reveals what US proposed in peace talks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the United States, during recent negotiations, floated the idea of Ukraine ceding the eastern Donbas region to Russia in exchange for NATO membership.
Zelenskyy told journalists on Friday that US negotiators had raised the possibility, marking the first time such a proposal had been discussed, CNN reported.
Russia currently controls a significant portion of the Donbas region, although its ground offensive there has faced a prolonged stalemate.
“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying by CNN.
The Ukrainian President said that if Kyiv received a "comprehensive security package", including a strong Ukrainian military and security guarantees from NATO and the European Union, he would put the proposal before the Ukrainian public for consideration.
“If the American side confirms precisely this to us, together with other NATO partners, then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not? I have no right to make that decision on my own. But we need specifics, and we don’t have them yet,” Zelenskyy was quoted as saying.
Recently, a US-brokered round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine was held in Abu Dhabi but failed to produce a breakthrough.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff travelled to the Irish capital, Dublin, on Thursday, where they met Zelenskyy after holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Commenting on the meeting, Kushner wrote on X that considerable efforts had gone into restarting direct negotiations after several months and that meaningful progress had been made in understanding the concerns of both sides, identifying possible solutions and establishing a path forward.
Today concluded three days of intense diplomacy aimed at ending the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine. Following detailed trilateral negotiations with the Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Abu Dhabi, we traveled to Moscow for direct discussions with President Putin, then to Dublin to meet with President Zelenskyy. We concluded the day consulting with National Security Advisors from Ukraine, Germany, Italy, EU, France, Ireland, and Poland. A tremendous amount of work has gone into restarting direct negotiations after many months. We have made meaningful progress in understanding both sides’ concerns, identifying possible solutions, and establishing a path forward. Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners. This will allow us to address the broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia. A lasting end to the fighting requires credible security guarantees, deconfliction mechanisms, and reciprocal de-escalation commitments that reduce the risk of future conflict. We agreed with President Zelenskyy to remain in close contact with him and his team, and reaffirmed that no broader European security arrangements will be finalized without addressing Ukraine’s security concerns. We will begin discussing these interconnected issues in parallel, with the understanding that, apart from humanitarian measures, nothing will be finalized until a comprehensive agreement is reached. We are also working toward what would be the largest prisoner exchange of the war, potentially reuniting thousands of people with their families. Many people’s lives have been devastated by this war and we hope both sides will demonstrate the good will and seriousness necessary to complete this important step. We expect to announce the negotiating tracks, schedule, and additional details shortly. President Trump is determined to end this horrible war. Significant differences remain, but we are encouraged by the progress made. We will undertake whatever hard diplomatic work is necessary to find a breakthrough that ends the fighting and creates the foundation for lasting peace, a sovereign, secure, and prosperous Ukraine, and a more stable Europe.
— Jared Kushner (@jaredkushner) November 13, 2026
"A tremendous amount of work has gone into restarting direct negotiations after many months. We have made meaningful progress in understanding both sides’ concerns, identifying possible solutions, and establishing a path forward," he said.
Kushner added that both sides had agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include their European partners. This would allow discussions on broader post-war European security arrangements to take place alongside territorial issues between Russia and Ukraine.
He stressed that a lasting end to the conflict would require credible security guarantees, deconfliction mechanisms and reciprocal de-escalation commitments to reduce the risk of renewed hostilities.
Kushner also said that he and Zelenskyy had agreed to remain in close contact, adding that no broader European security arrangements would be finalised without addressing Ukraine's security concerns.
He said discussions on these interconnected issues would begin in parallel, while nothing beyond humanitarian measures would be finalised until a comprehensive agreement was reached.
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