Zelenskyy says US negotiators raised Donbas withdrawal for NATO membership. He would put a package to a referendum.
U.S. negotiators have floated linking Ukraine NATO membership to a Ukrainian withdrawal from the eastern region of Donbas, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday, Nov. 14, after the latest round of peace talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi.
Zelenskyy told reporters, in remarks released by his office, that it was the first time the idea of tying NATO membership to territorial concessions had been raised in the negotiations. He quoted the U.S. side as asking: “What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?”
Zelenskyy said the question put NATO back on the agenda. Russian President Vladimir Putin has long described Ukrainian membership of the alliance as a red line for Moscow and has cited it as one reason for launching the full-scale invasion in 2022, Reuters reported.
Ukraine NATO membership and a possible referendum
Zelenskyy’s comments followed the latest rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi and Ireland, Al Jazeera reported. Al Jazeera reported that Zelenskyy said the parts of Donbas the Americans asked about were areas Russia does not control. He reiterated that Kyiv is unwilling to retreat from its territory, Yahoo News UK reported, and he rejected committing Ukraine to neutrality, according to Al Jazeera.
Zelenskyy said he would put the question of ceding parts of Donbas to a national referendum if Ukraine received a comprehensive package. That package would include security guarantees, a strong and well-funded army, funds for reconstruction and a recovery plan from the United States and other partners. If the American side confirms those terms together with other NATO partners, he said, he will ask Ukrainians whether they accept them.
Much of Donbas is under Russian control, CNN reported, although Moscow’s offensive in the region has largely stalled. CNN also reported that Putin has long coveted the region.
Abu Dhabi talks end without a breakthrough
The U.S.-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia were held Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 10 and 11, in the Emirati capital. They ended without a major breakthrough, Reuters reported, although Zelenskyy said the sides agreed to a prisoner exchange involving more than 1,000 people. Zelenskyy and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio both described the meetings as constructive, CNN reported.
The talks, convened by the United States, focus on efforts to end the war, post-war security arrangements and de-escalation. Delegates from Europe, now Ukraine’s largest financial and military backer, held talks with U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi but did not sit at the table with Russia, Reuters reported.
Zelenskyy also said Putin wants Ukraine to leave Kostiantynivka so Russian troops can move in and occupy the entire city, according to Reuters.
Europe pushes back on Russia’s security demand
Echoing comments made by European leaders at a summit in Dublin on Friday, Nov. 13, Zelenskyy dismissed Russia’s call for a broad agreement on European security architecture before the specifics of ending the war are agreed. “This war must be ended first,” he said. He described it as wrong to begin by overhauling the continent’s security framework and only afterward address ending the war, NBC News reported.
At the summit in Ireland, EU leaders agreed that Europe’s team for any Ukraine peace talks would include five major military powers, namely Britain, which is not an EU member, plus France, Germany, Italy and Poland, as well as EU officials, the South China Morning Post reported. The newspaper also reported that Zelenskyy met Witkoff and Kushner on Thursday in Ireland after their talks in Moscow.
What remains unconfirmed
Zelenskyy’s remarks were released by his office on Saturday, and the reports reviewed by Aurax News did not include an independent confirmation of his account. They also did not carry a response from Washington or Moscow, a date for another round of talks, or detail on how much of Donbas the proposal would cover beyond Zelenskyy’s description of areas Russia does not control.
Sources: Reuters (as carried by US News, Yahoo, NBC News and the Globe and Mail), CNN, Al Jazeera, the South China Morning Post and Yahoo News UK, all read as search excerpts.