Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the eve of a meeting with the US Special Envoy in Berlin that Ukraine had abandoned the goal of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise solution to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. This move marks a major shift in Ukraine's position. Zelensky said on Sunday that replacing NATO membership with security guarantees provided by the US, Europe and other partners was a compromise made by Ukraine. “From the beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, which is a real guarantee of security. But some partners in the US and Europe don't support this direction,” he said in response to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat. “As a result, the bilateral security guarantees now agreed between Ukraine and the US, the “Article 5” guarantees provided to us by the United States, the security guarantees of European partners and other countries such as Canada and Japan,” Zelensky said. “This in itself is a compromise we have made,” he added, while stressing that these guarantees should be legally binding.

Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the eve of a meeting with the US Special Envoy in Berlin that Ukraine had abandoned the goal of joining NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise solution to end the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. This move marks a major shift in Ukraine's position. Zelensky said on Sunday that replacing NATO membership with security guarantees provided by the US, Europe and other partners was a compromise made by Ukraine. “From the beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, which is a real guarantee of security. But some partners in the US and Europe don't support this direction,” he said in response to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat. “As a result, the bilateral security guarantees now agreed between Ukraine and the US, the “Article 5” guarantees provided to us by the United States, the security guarantees of European partners and other countries such as Canada and Japan,” Zelensky said. “This in itself is a compromise we have made,” he added, while stressing that these guarantees should be legally binding.