Zelensky Signals Willingness to Drop NATO Bid in Peace Talks With US Envoys

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to abandon Ukraine’s long-standing aspiration to join the NATO military alliance in exchange for firm Western security guarantees, as he held more than five hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Sunday aimed at ending the war with Russia. Negotiations are set to resume on Monday.

The talks, hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, involved Steve Witkoff, a key envoy of former US President Donald Trump, and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law. Witkoff said “a lot of progress was made,” though few details were disclosed.

Zelensky’s adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said discussions lasted over five hours and concluded with an agreement to reconvene the next morning.

“They went on for more than five hours and ended for today with an agreement to resume tomorrow morning,” Lytvyn told reporters, adding that officials were reviewing draft documents.

Ahead of the talks, Zelensky indicated Ukraine could drop its NATO ambitions — a major shift for Kyiv, which has pursued membership as a core security goal and enshrined it in its constitution — if it received binding security guarantees from Western partners.

“From the very beginning, Ukraine’s desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees,” Zelensky said in remarks shared via a WhatsApp chat with reporters.

“Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries — Canada, Japan — are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion,” he said, stressing that such guarantees must be legally binding.

The proposal meets one of Russia’s key demands, as President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly insisted Ukraine formally renounce NATO membership and remain neutral. Moscow has also demanded limits on Ukraine’s armed forces and withdrawal from remaining Ukrainian-held parts of the Donbas region. Russian officials have previously said Putin wants a written pledge from major Western powers ruling out NATO’s eastward expansion.

Witkoff said representatives held “in-depth discussions” on a 20-point peace plan, economic issues and other matters, describing the talks as constructive and confirming they would continue on Monday.

The presence of senior US envoys signalled Washington sees a potential opening for progress nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 invasion. Zelensky, under pressure from Trump to reach a peace deal, has accused Moscow of prolonging the war through continued bombardment of cities and critical infrastructure. He said a ceasefire along current front lines could be a fair option.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called the talks a “good sign” but voiced caution about Ukraine giving up its NATO bid. Speaking to ZDF television, he noted Ukraine’s past experience with security assurances, recalling the 1994 Budapest Memorandum under which Kyiv gave up its nuclear weapons in return for guarantees from the US, Russia and Britain.

“It remains to be seen to what extent this statement Zelensky has now made will actually hold true, and what preconditions must be met,” Pistorius said, adding that security guarantees without strong US involvement “wouldn’t be worth much.”

Britain, France and Germany are working to refine US peace proposals that, according to a draft disclosed last month, would require Ukraine to cede more territory, abandon NATO ambitions and accept limits on its military. European leaders have described the moment as critical, with far-reaching consequences for Ukraine’s future and regional security.