for the first time, Zelensky says he is ready to make concessions in exchange for NATO protection

This is a first since the start of the war in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelensky opened the door this Friday to a temporary loss of territories, those occupied by Russia. In exchange, he demands that areas under Ukrainian sovereignty be placed under the aegis of NATO. How to interpret these statements by the Ukrainian president on the American channel Sky News? Europe 1 takes stock.

Ukraine in a weak position

Volodymyr Zelensky opens the door to a ceasefire in his own way. In the negotiations with Moscow, he hopes to influence negotiations in which Ukraine will enter into a position of weakness as it continues to lose ground against Russia in recent weeks. For the Ukrainian president, it is also a question of ensuring a certain protection for Westerners: of having guarantees that Vladimir Putin will not launch into a new offensive after a possible ceasefire.

But the hope of protection from NATO is wishful thinking, according to senior reporter Régis le Sommier. “There is a desire to say ‘I am open to negotiation, but I will close it immediately’ knowing that Ukraine’s accession to NATO is absolutely impossible for the Russians, who do not want it. will never accept,” he notes.

For Volodymyr Zelensky, this remains a way of existing in these negotiations, at a time when the idea of ​​a settlement of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is taking more and more shape, particularly since the victory of Donald Trump in the United States. The Ukrainian president has also reiterated his desire to work with the Trump administration while the future of American support for kyiv seems very uncertain.

Putin asks kyiv to give up its ambitions

Volodymyr Zelensky has insisted that any offer to join NATO must be made to all of Ukraine, but his comments suggest he may accept only alliance protections, such as the clause of collective defense of Article 5, apply only to the territory controlled by kyiv. “If we talk about a ceasefire, (we need) guarantees that Putin will not return,” Zelensky said in English.

Vladimir Putin has already asked kyiv to abandon its ambitions to join NATO if it wants a peace agreement. In the context of an escalation of the conflict over the past two weeks, Zelensky had a series of telephone calls with Western leaders, including Britain’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Germany’s Olaf Scholz.

Series of phone calls

On this occasion, Emmanuel Macron “condemned with the greatest firmness Russia’s indiscriminate strikes which continue to intensify against cities, against civilians and against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure”, indicated the French presidency . “These strikes, the increased cooperation with North Korea, and the irresponsible rhetoric that accompanies them, are part of an unacceptable logic of escalation on the part of Russia,” added Mr. Macron.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga on Friday to brief him on “U.S. goals for sustained support for Ukraine,” the department spokesperson said. of State Matthew Miller. Joe Biden’s administration has stepped up its support for kyiv since Donald Trump won the election, transferring more weapons and allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles into Russian territory.