Vlodymr Zelensky said he is willing to cede territory to Russia to end the war for the first time.
The Ukrainian president said his country could give up land temporarily in exchange for a ‘Nato umbrella’ over the territory Ukraine still holds.
He added that Kyiv could later negotiate “diplomatically” the return of the territory in the east that is currently under Russian control after a ceasefire is agreed.
“If we want to stop the hot stage of the war, we should take under [the] Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” Zelensky said through a translator in an interview with Sky News.
“That’s what we need to do fast, and then Ukraine can get back the other part of its territory diplomatically,” he added.
“Nato umbrella” could mean membership of Nato or it could mean individual security guarantees offered by Western allies.
Full membership would deter Vladimir Putin from launching a future invasion, as it would trigger a war with the West through Article 5.
However, Putin has already rejected Nato membership for Ukraine as part of any future peace deal.
Zelensky’s comments came in answer to a question over whether Kyiv would be willing to give up territory to Moscow altogether in exchange for full Nato membership.
Zelensky rejected this but added: “No one has offered us to be in Nato with just one part or another part of Ukraine.”
He said it “could be possible, but no one offered”.
More to follow
