Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends the press conference on signing the declaration on the deployment of a force after the ceasefire in Ukraine, during the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” summit, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, January 6, 2026.
Ludovic Marin | Via Reuters
US negotiators have raised the idea of Ukraine’s possible withdrawal from its eastern Donbass region in exchange for NATO membership, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, after the latest round of peace talks with Russia in Abu Dhabi.
This is the first time the issue of the link between NATO membership and territorial concessions has been raised during the negotiations, Zelenskyy said in remarks to journalists released by his office on Saturday.
“The Americans asked the question: ‘What if Ukraine joined NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ he said.
“That’s why I think NATO is back on the agenda. But you also heard the signals (from Russian President Vladimir Putin), and it’s an extremely difficult conversation.”
Putin has long said that Ukraine’s NATO membership is a red line for Moscow, citing the issue as one of the reasons Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.
Zelensky reiterated that kyiv was not ready to cede territory, but said that if it received a comprehensive package including security guarantees, the right to a strong and well-financed Ukrainian army and funds for reconstruction, he would submit the issue to a national referendum.
“We must first end this war”
Echoing remarks made by European leaders at a summit in Dublin on Friday, Zelensky rejected Russia’s call for broad agreement on the European security architecture before agreeing on the details of ending the war in Ukraine.
“We cannot turn everything upside down and start by talking about changing the security framework in the world or on the entire continent, and only then talk about ending this war. This war must end first,” he said.
Zelensky also rejected Putin’s suggestion of a local humanitarian ceasefire in Kostiantynivka, a hotly contested town in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, saying it reflected Moscow’s inability to take the town by force. Civilians have already been given the opportunity to evacuate, he added.
“Putin just wants us to leave Kostiantynivka so they can move in and occupy the whole city,” he said.
Ukraine has given a list of seven or eight other front-line settlements where civilians, including children, are trapped for a possible humanitarian truce, but Russia prefers to use them as military targets, Zelenskyy said.
Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians during this war.
Agreement on a vast exchange of prisoners
Two days of U.S.-brokered talks between Ukraine and Russia ended Wednesday in the Emirati capital without any major breakthroughs, although the sides agreed to a prisoner swap that would involve more than 1,000 people, Zelenskyy said.
The final figures for the prisoner exchange are still under discussion, he added.
U.S. peace envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner pledged to lift fire on an energy ceasefire with Putin at a meeting in Moscow on Thursday, Zelenskyy said, but there was no news of any progress after their talks.
“Personally, Putin does not support a ceasefire,” he said.
Zelensky met with Witkoff and Kushner on Thursday in Ireland after their talks in Moscow. He said U.S. negotiators told him all sides had agreed to give Europe a seat at the table in upcoming peace talks.
In Abu Dhabi, European delegates — now Ukraine’s largest financial and military backer — met with U.S. and Ukrainian officials, but did not sit at the table with Russia.
At the summit in Ireland, EU leaders agreed that the European team for any Ukraine peace talks would include five major military powers – non-EU Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Poland – as well as EU officials.
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