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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced readiness to drop his country’s bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees, but rejected the U.S. push for ceding territory to Russia as he held talks with U.S. envoys on ending the war, Stefanie Dazio and Claudia Ciobanu reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Zelenskyy emphasized that any security assurances would need to be legally binding and supported by the U.S. Congress/ (Photo: Володимир Зеленський Facebook)

Zelensky sat down with U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

The Ukrainian leader posted pictures of the negotiating table with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz sitting next to him, facing the U.S. delegation.

Responding to journalists’ questions in audio clips on a WhatsApp group chat before the talks, Zelenskyy said that since the U.S. and some European nations had rejected Ukraine’s push to join NATO, Kyiv expects the West to offer a set of guarantees similar to those provided to alliance members.

“These security guarantees are an opportunity to prevent another wave of Russian aggression,” he said. “And this is already a compromise on our part.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has cast Ukraine’s bid to join NATO as a major threat to Moscow’s security and a reason for launching the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Zelenskyy emphasized that any security assurances would need to be legally binding and supported by the U.S. Congress, adding that he expected an update from his team following a meeting between Ukrainian and U.S. military officials in Stuttgart, Germany.