The U.S. floated the idea of Ukraine ceding control of parts of its Donbas region to Russia in exchange for NATO membership, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend, while Moscow reportedly demanded that Finland be kicked out of the transatlantic alliance under a potential peace deal.
The twin revelations shed light on exactly what was discussed during high-level talks involving U.S., Ukrainian and Russian delegations late last week as the Trump administration renews its push for peace between Kyiv and Moscow.
On the surface, the three stakeholders still appear miles apart. Ukraine has given no indication it is willing to give up control of territory to Russia, while the chances of NATO booting Finland from the alliance seem close to zero.
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Finland and Sweden became NATO members in 2023 and 2024, respectively, in direct response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Following his meeting with White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, Mr. Zelenskyy told reporters that the American side asked for the first time whether his forces would withdraw from the Donbas in exchange for NATO membership. The Ukrainian president indicated that his nation would not agree to that.
“[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s desire to change borders in Europe is a fact. I am sure this is part of his concept of revising security guarantees in Europe,” Mr. Zelenskyy said in comments to reporters that were embargoed until Saturday.
“This is dangerous because, in my view, it is precisely things like this that lead to wars or escalations,” the Ukrainian president said.
The U.S. delegation met separately with Mr. Putin in Moscow, while U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations also held three-way meetings in Abu Dhabi.
Russian officials dismissed Mr. Zelenskyy’s comments and framed the talks as positive.
“I am not taking Zelensky into account here. He is constantly playing some game of his own. But his negotiators, apparently, were focused on substantive discussions,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday, according to Russia’s state-run Tass News Agency.
Russian state-controlled media did not address another reported part of the negotiations: That NATO kick out Finland. The Scandinavian nation shares a 833-mile border with Russia, the largest of any NATO country.
The German newspaper reported the Russian demand. In comments to his country’s Yle news outlet, Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen rejected the idea.
“Such matters are in no way a matter for negotiation. Russia knows that. This is absolutely outrageous to even suggest such a thing,” Mr. Hakkanen said.
Russia has deeply opposed Ukrainian NATO membership. Kyiv has long sought to join the alliance, and admitting the country into NATO is generally considered one of the biggest leverage points the U.S. has over Ukraine.
But Mr. Zelenskyy has offered no sign that he’s willing to swap territory for NATO membership.
The nations made progress on other fronts during the meetings. Mr. Zelenskyy said talks in Moscow with U.S. negotiators resulted in an agreement to exchange more than 1,000 prisoners on each side. The exact number was still being determined, he said, estimating 1,200 to 1,300.
· This article is based in part on wire service reports.
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