US negotiators have for the first time raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing from Donbas in exchange for joining NATO, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed. The Ukrainian leader has reiterated that kyiv is not willing to abandon its territory and has indicated that any specific proposal that included sufficient security guarantees would have to be submitted to a referendum.
The statements come after a week of intense diplomatic activity, with trilateral negotiations in Abu Dhabi and a meeting in Moscow between Vladimir Putin and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Donald Trump's two representatives later met with Zelensky in Dublin. During the talks, Moscow expressed its demands to the West, which go in the opposite direction to what the US has said to Ukraine and are similar to the 2021 ultimatum. Among them is the withdrawal of NATO troops to the 1997 borders. Moscow is trying to convince the Americans that the Europe split from the Cold War was safer for both blocs.
In fact, 'The New York Times' has obtained a copy of a position paper distributed by Russian representatives during the Abu Dhabi negotiations, in which Moscow sets out broader demands than ever on the European security architecture, demanding a rollback of NATO and a containment of the European nuclear umbrella.
Another obstacle continues to be Donbas: Russia demands control of the entire region, including the fortified positions still held by the Ukrainian Army, while kyiv refuses to withdraw. Zelensky reiterated that Ukraine is not willing to give up its territory. However, he stated that if he received a comprehensive package that included security guarantees, a strong and well-funded Ukrainian military and funds for reconstruction, he would put the issue to a referendum. kyiv is aware that this is a hypothesis raised by the US during diplomatic contacts, not a formal offer to join the Atlantic Alliance.
According to the Ukrainian leader, "the Americans raised a question: 'What would happen if Ukraine joined NATO? Would it withdraw from Donbas?'. It was the first time this question was raised." Zelensky spoke through demonstrations released this Saturday by his office, "that's why I think NATO is back on the table. But they have also heard the signals from Russian President Vladimir Putin, and this is an extremely difficult conversation," he added.
A DOCUMENT OF MAXIMUMS
Two months before invading Ukraine, in February 2022, Russia presented a series of far-reaching demands, including that NATO withdraw its forces and bases to positions prior to its expansion into central and eastern Europe. Therefore, the possibility of Ukraine joining the Alliance introduces a particularly delicate element for Moscow, which has been demanding for years that kyiv definitively renounce NATO and has made that demand one of its main conditions for ending the war.
The NYT document, dated November 10 and whose authenticity was confirmed by a second person familiar with the negotiations, shows that Putin has barely modified his main objectives after more than 20 months of diplomatic staging promoted by the Trump Administration. Russia is once again demanding that NATO withdraw its forces from its eastern flank, especially from Poland and the Baltic countries. It is an informal document, without letterhead or signature (known in diplomatic language as 'non-paper') that reflects Moscow's initial position. According to the American newspaper's sources, Russian representatives noted during the talks that Putin could still show some flexibility.
The text recovers, in some cases practically word for word, the demands formulated by Moscow in December 2021. It demands that NATO countries rule out new expansions of the Alliance and renounce "any military activity" in Ukraine and other areas of "Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia." It also requires the withdrawal of allied forces and military facilities to the positions they occupied in 1997, before the successive incorporations of countries from the former Soviet bloc. These measures would weaken the defensive capabilities of some of the most exposed members of the Alliance, such as Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Russian demands also extend to the Western nuclear deterrent. In 2021, Moscow was already demanding the abandonment of NATO nuclear sharing agreements, which allow certain European allies to participate in US deterrence mechanisms. Now, according to the document obtained by 'The New York Times', Russia also hopes that France and the United Kingdom will rule out using their nuclear arsenals to protect other European countries. The demand comes just when several capitals are studying how to reinforce their own deterrence in the face of doubts about the US commitment to the defense of the continent. At this crossroads, the Russians want the European response and its solidarity to remain fragmented as during the Cold War, when Western democracies did not suffer from the submission of Central Europe.
Moscow also intends to cut Western military assistance to kyiv. The document calls for an end to the "supply of any type of Western weapons, equipment and military products to Ukraine." The proposal includes another restriction: Russia would only accept Ukrainian accession to the European Union if the country were excluded from the bloc's common security and defense policy.
During the Abu Dhabi talks, Russian representatives went so far as to present the Cold War system of spheres of influence as a model for future European security. According to the sources cited by the American newspaper, they argued in their own way that those times could return, and that the division of the continent between the areas of influence of Washington and Moscow, together with the communication mechanisms between both powers, then contributed to reducing the risk of conflict.
Witkoff and Kushner told the Russian representatives that circumstances had changed since December 2021. According to a US official cited by the newspaper, Washington is willing to study new proposals from Moscow as long as they include concrete measures to reduce tensions.
Trump himself had previously considered Ukraine's accession to NATO unrealistic. Washington has not confirmed any formal membership proposal and Zelensky has referred only to a possibility raised during the talks. The contradiction remains fundamental: while the United States explores formulas that allow it to offer security guarantees to Ukraine, Russia seeks to restrict both kyiv's military capacity and the Western presence in Europe.
Other information published this week points to even more ambitious Russian demands. According to the German newspaper 'Bild', representatives of Moscow would have demanded that Finland leave NATO as part of a future agreement to end the war in Ukraine. The proposal, attributed to sources close to Putin and raised in informal contacts, would also include preventing the installation of Alliance bases in the Baltic countries and keeping the occupied Ukrainian territories, in addition to the entire Donbas, under Russian control.
The Kremlin has expressly denied having made the demand about Finland, which joined NATO in April 2023 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Helsinki has responded that its Alliance membership is outside any negotiations. Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen described the claims attributed to Moscow as inadmissible and recalled that Russia has been trying for years to impose restrictions on the security decisions of its neighbors. From Foreign Affairs they insist: Finland's membership in NATO is an issue that corresponds exclusively to Helsinki and the other allies.
