Khaberni - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated before talks with American envoys in Berlin that Ukraine has abandoned its ambition to join the NATO alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia.
This move represents a major shift for Ukraine, which has struggled to join NATO as a guarantee against Russian attacks, and had enshrined this ambition in its constitution.
This step also meets one of Russia's goals in the war, although Kyiv "remains steadfast" in its stance of not ceding territory to Moscow.
Zelensky said on Sunday that accepting the security guarantees offered by the United States and European partners, among others, as an alternative to Ukraine's membership in NATO, is a compromise from Ukraine.
In response to journalists' questions via WhatsApp, Zelensky said, "From the beginning, Ukraine's desire has been to join NATO... these are real security guarantees. But some partners from the USA and Europe did not support this direction."
Zelensky added, "Therefore, the bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the United States, and the Article Five-like guarantees provided to us by the United States, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries such as Canada and Japan, offer an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion."
He continued, "This indeed is a compromise on our part," noting that the security guarantees must be legally binding.
