OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:29 PM – Sunday, December 14, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that he is willing to give up aspirations of Ukraine joining NATO in exchange for security guarantees to end the war.
On Sunday, Zelensky stated that Ukraine is willing to drop its aspirations of joining NATO, an aspiration Ukraine views as critical, going so far as to include the goal of joining the Western alliance in its constitution.
“From the very beginning, Ukraine’s desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the U.S. and Europe did not support this decision,” Zelensky stated ahead of talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
Although Zelensky conceded official NATO aspirations, he suggested an alternative extremely similar, asking for “Article 5-like guarantees” from the United States, “and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries — Canada, Japan — are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion.”
Under NATO’s Article 5, an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, obligating allies to assist the nation under attack.
Zelensky went on to note that Ukraine will not concede territory that it now controls, which was included in a recent peace deal proposed by the Trump administration.
“In my view, the most important thing is that the plan be as fair as possible — first and foremost for Ukraine, because it was Russia that started this war,” Zelensky stated. “And above all, it must be workable. The plan truly should not be just a piece of paper, but a meaningful step toward ending the war.”
The Ukrainian president is also expected to meet with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner in upcoming talks with European officials, balancing his requests with the proposals issued by the United States.
“The Berlin summit is important. We’re meeting with Americans and Europeans,” Zelensky stated. “This alliance format matters to us, and believe me, we’ve done a lot to bring all these parties together.”
“Unfortunately, this moment demands respect for strength, not values,” he continued. “If we were talking about honesty, values, and international law, Russia should have been condemned ten years ago for invading Ukraine’s sovereign territory. That didn’t happen — there were only words.”
President Trump’s recent peace proposal included Ukraine forgoing NATO aspirations, ceding the Donbas regions, including parts Ukraine currently holds, and reducing its military count in exchange for an end to the war.
There is no indication that Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to agree to Ukraine’s latest proposal, as Russia continues to slowly grind the front line forward, giving the Kremlin the upper hand in ongoing negotiations.
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