US Floats Donbas-For-NATO Deal, Zelensky Says Ukraine Must Decide

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday claimed that the United States recently raised the possibility of Ukraine withdrawing from its eastern Donbas region in exchange for NATO membership during peace talks in Abu Dhabi. He also said that the government was in talks about "specific" security guarantees from the West."The Americans raised a question: 'What if Ukraine joins NATO? Would Ukraine withdraw from Donbas?' This was the first time this had been raised," he told reporters.READ | Putin Agrees To Let European Representatives Join Ukraine Peace TalksZelensky said that the government is in talks with NATO and EU and only after the Western countries have confirmed them will he ask the Ukrainian community about the proposal."Then I will ask our Ukrainian society what it thinks: do we accept it or not? I have no right to make that decision on my own," he said."That is why I believe NATO is back on the agenda. But you have also heard (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's signals, and this is an extremely difficult conversation," he added.Putin's Demand Of An Overhaul Of Europe's Security ArchitechturePutin is demanding a fundamental overhaul of Europe's security architecture as a precondition for renewed, US-mediated peace negotiations over the war in Ukraine.Zelensky said the EU and NATO are Europe's only "real security", warning the Kremlin's bid to change the continent's security architecture could lead to more wars."This is dangerous because, in my view, it is precisely things like this that lead to wars or escalations," Zelensky told reporters. "Real security in Europe means the EU and NATO. That's it. There is no other security in Europe." READ | Zelensky Sees "Window Of Opportunity" For War Talks Breakthrough Before 2027Russia-Ukraine's First US Mediated Talks In 9 MonthsRussia and Ukraine on Tuesday held their first US-mediated talks in nine months on ending the four and a half-year-old war, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling the meeting "very productive" and Zelensky saying the session was "constructive and quite substantive."There are no signs the fighting is abating, and the talks come against a backdrop of new long-range strikes by both Russia and Ukraine. The two armies are largely deadlocked on the front line.Putin wants Ukraine to pull its troops back from four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed in September 2022 but has never fully captured. He also demands that Ukraine abandon its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its military, among other issues.Zelensky rejects Putin's demands to voluntarily cede territory. He also rejects any limits on Ukraine's military or its arrangements with Western partners, which Kyiv sees as essential security guarantees to stop Moscow from invading again.(With inputs from agencies)