Zelensky Makes Key Concession Ahead of Peace Talks

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced Ukraine is willing to give up hopes of NATO membership in exchange for western security guarantees. This marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has spent the better part of a decade pushing to join the alliance. Zelensky has framed the concession as a major compromise, but that’s not the whole picture.

Zelensky told 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,". Article 5 in the NATO treaty states: “An armed attack against one NATO member is considered an attack against all of them.” In practice it calls every nation in NATO to provide some form of support in the event another NATO nation is attacked. Giving up on NATO hopes, but calling for NATO-like guarantees from the US and other major western nations, is a mostly symbolic compromise. Its only major significance may lie in giving Putin a tool to use if he wants to end the war. If Putin wants the war to end, he can use the fact that he kept them from joining NATO to declare victory.

Zelensky is currently in Berlin, where he’s meeting with U.S. envoys, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Continued talks in Berlin are expected over the coming days, including a summit between Zelensky and European leaders on Monday. The talks are reportedly focused on security guarantees and possible ceasefire frameworks.