Zelensky with a strong statement: We are ready to end the war in exchange for NATO membership even if Russia does not "immediately" return the occupied lands

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested a ceasefire deal could be reached if the Ukrainian territory he controls can be taken "under the NATO umbrella" - allowing him to negotiate the return of the rest later "diplomatically".
In an interview with Sky News Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president was asked to respond to media reports that one of US President-elect Donald Trump's plans to end the war in Ukraine, it may be that Kiev will hand over the land it has taken to Russia in exchange for Ukraine's NATO membership.
Zelensky said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of the country in order to end the "hot war phase," as long as NATO's invitation itself recognizes the internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.
He appeared to accept that the occupied eastern parts of the country would be left out of such a deal for the time being.
"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we must take under the umbrella of NATO the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control", he said.
"We have to do it quickly. And then in the occupied territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can return them in a diplomatic way", continued the Ukrainian leader.
Zelensky said, among other things, that a cease-fire was necessary to "guarantee that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, "will not return to take more territory."
"We have to work with the new president"
In his first interview with British media since Trump's election victory, Zelensky was also asked what he thought of the US president-elect.
"We have to work with the new president in order to have the biggest supporter", he said.
"I want to work with him directly because he has different voices than the people around him. And that is why we should not allow anyone around to destroy our communication," Zelensky continued.
Asked if he had spoken to Trump, Zelensky said the pair had spoken in September when he was in New York, adding: "We had a conversation. It was very warm, good, constructive".
Otherwise, the interview is the first time that Zelensky shares such information about Ukrainian territories, he writes sky news, the Telegraph reports.
Throughout the conflict, he has never said he would hand over any occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia — including Crimea, which Russia seized in February 2014 and formally annexed the following month.
He stated that such action is not allowed under the Ukrainian constitution and the only way it would be possible is if the people in those areas agree to secede.
The furthest he has previously gone was during an interview with Le Monde in July this year, when he suggested the territories could join Russia if they voted in a free and fair referendum.
But he said Kiev would have to have the territory back under its control to hold such a vote.
As reported, about a fifth of Ukrainian territory remains under Russian control.
In September 2022, Russia unilaterally announced the annexation of areas in and around the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia following referendums that were not recognized internationally.
Zelensky's long-held position is that the territory remains Ukrainian, that Russia's occupation of the land is illegal and that Kiev will not give up any of its territory to reach a peace deal.
Earlier this year he presented a "victory plan" which included a refusal to cede Ukrainian territory and sovereignty.
However, Moscow has suggested that it will not give up the lands. /Telegraph/
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