Zelensky says US raised Donbas withdrawal for NATO membership

US negotiators have asked whether Ukraine would withdraw its remaining troops from the Donbas in exchange for joining NATO, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, raising an option that cuts across two central disputes in talks to end the war with Russia.

“The Americans raised a question: ‘What if Ukraine joins Nato? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?’ This was the first time this had been raised,” Zelensky told reporters, according to the BBC. Al Jazeera reported that he made the comments on Friday under an embargo that lifted Saturday, and said the question came during talks in Abu Dhabi this week. No concrete offer had been made, Al Jazeera reported.

Zelensky said the exchange made him believe that “NATO is back on the agenda,” after US officials had previously said Ukrainian membership was off the table. But he cautioned: “You have also heard Putin’s signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation.”

Ukraine has long sought NATO membership as a guarantee against future attacks. Russia opposes having another member of the military alliance on its border and has demanded that Ukraine withdraw from the parts of the Donbas it still controls. Moscow has also proposed limits on Ukraine’s armed forces and guarantees that Kyiv would remain neutral. Ukraine has rejected those conditions, saying they would weaken its ability to resist another invasion.

The Donbas comprises the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russia occupies most of both, and roughly a fifth of Ukrainian territory overall, according to the BBC. Zelensky has consistently said Ukraine will not give up sovereign territory. Al Jazeera reported that he said Ukraine would not withdraw its troops and would not amend its constitution to make the country neutral.

Zelensky said he could put a proposal to a referendum if it included firm security guarantees, funding for Ukraine’s military and money for reconstruction. He has also said any agreement must leave Ukraine’s armed forces free of constraints.

Diplomatic contacts have continued on several fronts. The BBC reported that US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Zelensky in Dublin on Thursday after talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Al Jazeera reported that US-mediated direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives resumed this week, with European representatives expected to join the next round. Apart from renewed prisoner exchanges, there appeared to have been little progress, it said.

The war continued during the talks. A Ukrainian drone attack killed two parents and their 24-month-old daughter at their home in Russia’s Belgorod region on Saturday, according to Russian authorities cited by Al Jazeera. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces intercepted 29 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 96 drones from Friday evening, of which 81 were shot down or electronically suppressed by early Saturday. It reported hits at eight locations. A local power supplier reported outages in parts of northeastern Sumy, Al Jazeera said.