Ukraine agreed not to join NATO, but refused to cede territory.

(CLO) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his willingness on December 14 to abandon efforts to join NATO, but rejected demands to cede territory to Russia.

President Zelenskyy met with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also attended the talks in Berlin, sitting next to the Ukrainian president.

Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy said that because the US and several European countries had rejected Ukraine's attempt to join NATO, Kyiv expected the West to offer a series of guarantees similar to those given to members of the alliance.

The Ukrainian delegation, led by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, held talks with the US delegation to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict in Berlin, Germany, on December 14, 2025. Photo: Press Office of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin views Ukraine's request to join the NATO military alliance as a major threat to Moscow's security. The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine abandon its intention to join this anti-Russian alliance as part of any future peace agreement.

Zelenskyy emphasized that any security guarantees must be legally binding and supported by the U.S. Congress .

Russia wants Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control as one of the key conditions for achieving peace, a demand that Kyiv has rejected.

Zelenskyy said the US had proposed that Ukraine withdraw its troops from Donetsk and establish a demilitarized free economic zone there, a proposal he rejected as unfeasible. “I don’t think this is fair, because who would manage this economic zone?” he said.

Zelenskyy described the issue as "very sensitive" and stressed the need for a freeze along the contact line, saying that "a fair and viable option now is for us to remain as we are."

The Ukrainian president said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron just before his meeting with Trump's envoys, and stated that "we are coordinating closely and working together for our common security."

The German Chancellor said on Saturday that "the decades-long era of 'American-style peace' has largely ended for us in Europe and also in Germany."

Source: https://congluan.vn/ukraine-chap-thuan-khong-gia-nhap-nato-nhung-tu-choi-nhuong-lanh-tho-10322586.html