Ukraine Willing to Pursue NATO Membership, U.S. Envoy Says Peace Talks Making Progress

President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to abandon Ukraine's aspirations to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during a five-hour talk with a U.S. envoy in Berlin, Germany on Sunday to end the war with Russia, while negotiations continue today.

US President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said "a lot of progress has been made" as he and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a peace deal.

"The president will comment on the talks on Monday after they are completed," said Presidential Adviser Volodymyr Zelensky, Dmytro Lytvyn, adding that officials were considering the draft document.

"The talks lasted more than five hours and ended for today with an agreement to continue tomorrow morning," Lytvyn told reporters in a WhatsApp chat, Reuters reported (15/12).

"Ahead of the talks, President Zelensky offered to cancel Ukraine's bid to join NATO in return for Western security guarantees.

"This step marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has been fighting to join NATO as a protection against Russian aggression and has those aspirations enshrined in its constitution.

"This also fulfills one of the goals of the Russian war, although Kyiv has so far remained adamant about handing over territory to Moscow," it said.

"Representatives had in-depth discussions on a 20-point plan for peace, an economic agenda, and more. Much progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning (today)," Witkoff said in a post on X.

The talks were led by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who according to a source had given a brief statement before leaving the two sides to negotiate. Other European leaders are also scheduled to be in Germany for talks on Monday.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join NATO, this is a real guarantee of security. Some partners from the US and Europe do not support this direction," President Zelensky said in response to a question from a journalist in a WhatsApp chat.

"Therefore, today, the bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, such guarantees as Article 5 for us from the US, and security guarantees from our European partners, as well as other countries - Canada, Japan - are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion," explained President Zelensky.

"And this is already a compromise from our side," he said, adding that the security guarantees must be legally binding.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine formally abandon its NATO ambitions and withdraw troops from around 10 percent of the Donbas territory still controlled by Kyiv.

Moscow also said Ukraine must be a neutral country and no NATO troops could be stationed in Ukraine.

Russian sources said earlier this year that President Putin wanted a "written" pledge from major Western powers not to expand the US-led NATO alliance eastwards, in short, formally rejecting membership for Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and other former Soviet republics.

Witkoff's delivery, which has been leading negotiations with Ukraine and Russia on a U.S. peace proposal, appears to be a signal that Washington sees an opportunity for progress nearly four years after Russia's 2022 invasion.

The pressure from President Trump to sign a peace deal that initially backed Moscow's demands, President Zelensky accused Russia of prolonging the war through deadly bombardments of Ukrainian cities and electricity and water supplies.

"A ceasefire along the current front lines would be a fair option," he added.

The German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Ukraine has had bitter experience in the past of relying on security guarantees.

The deal was a major diplomatic victory for Ukraine, which had been seeking to join NATO since the Soviet era. The agreement was signed in 1994, and Ukraine was granted a non-binding status as a "potential candidate" for membership.

"Therefore, it remains to be seen to what extent the statements made by President Zelensky now will actually apply, and what prerequisites must be met," said Defense Minister Pistorius.

"We are not going to be able to do anything about it," said the head of the European Commission's climate change unit, Miguel Arias Cañete."Não vamos conseguir fazer nada sobre isso", disse o chefe da unidade de alterações climáticas da Comissão Europeia, Miguel Arias Cañete.

"It remains to be seen to what extent the statements made: 'This concerns territorial issues, the commitment of Russia and other countries,' he said, adding that security guarantees alone, especially without significant US involvement, 'will not mean much.'

"It is known that Britain, France and Germany have been trying to refine the US proposal, which in a draft revealed last month called on Kyiv to cede more territory, abandon its NATO ambitions and accept limits on its armed forces.

The European allies described this as a "critical moment" that could shape Ukraine's future, and sought to strengthen Kyiv's finances by tapping into frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Kyiv's military and civilian budgets.