Zelensky says Ukraine might briefly cede territory to Russia in trade for Nato membership | EUROtoday

Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky has advised he would briefly cede Ukrainian territory to Russia in trade for becoming a member of Nato.

Mr Zelensky mentioned Nato membership must be provided to unoccupied elements of the nation to finish the “hot phase” of the warfare and appeared to just accept jap elements of the nation would fall exterior this deal.

It comes after reviews claimed one in all US president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to finish the warfare is likely to be for Kyiv to cede the land Moscow has taken to Russia in trade for Ukraine becoming a member of the alliance.

“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control,” Mr Zelensky advised Sky News.

“We need to do it fast. And then on the occupied territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”

He mentioned Nato ought to “immediately” cowl the a part of Ukraine that is still underneath Kyiv’s management, one thing he mentioned Ukraine wants “very much otherwise he [Putin] will come back”.

Mr Zelensky was requested what he considered the Mr Trump and mentioned “we have to work with the new president” so as to “have the biggest supporter”.

“I want to work with him directly because there are different voices from people around him. And that’s why we need not to allow anybody around to destroy our communication,” he mentioned.

“It will be not helpful and will be destructive. We have to try to find the new model. I want to share with him ideas and I want to hear from him.”

Throughout the battle, Mr Zelenskyy has by no means mentioned he would cede any occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia – together with Crimea, which Russia occupied in February 2014.

In September 2022, Russia unilaterally declared its annexation of areas in and across the Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia following referendums that weren’t internationally recognised.

Mr Zelensky’s long-held place is that the territory stays Ukrainian, that Russia’s occupation of the land is illegal and that Kyiv is not going to cede any of its territory so as to strike a peace deal.