Ukraine prez drops plans to join NATO

UKRAINE HAS RELINQUISHED its ambition of joining the NATO military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of talks with US envoys in Berlin.

- REUTERS

The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join NATO as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia’s war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelenskyy said on Sunday that the US, and European and other partners’ security guarantees instead of NATO membership were a compromise on Ukraine;s side.

“From the very beginning, Ukraine’s desire was to join NATO, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the US and Europe did not support this direction,” he said in answer to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.