– Ukraine is not a NATO member. We understand that. We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we have also heard that we could not join. This is a truth that must be acknowledged, Zelensky said in a video conference with military leaders.
One of the demands made by Russia is that Ukraine never becomes a member of NATO.
Both Ukraine and NATO have previously rejected this demand, and the Defense Alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly stated that the door to membership is open and that it must be up to each country to decide which alliance they want to be part of.
Constructive tone
Ukraine and Russia met on Tuesday for a new round of negotiations, where the tone from the Russian side, according to one of Zelenskyj’s advisers, was more constructive than before.
According to Ihor Zhovkva, Russia no longer demands that Ukraine surrender.
The Ukrainian representatives are “moderately optimistic” after the talks, says Zhovkva, who emphasizes that a breakthrough in the negotiations presupposes that Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet.
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Room for compromise
Another member of the Ukrainian negotiating delegation, Zelenskyj’s adviser Mykhailo Podoljak, is also cautiously optimistic after Tuesday’s video conference.
– We continue tomorrow. This is a very difficult and slow negotiation process. There are fundamental contradictions. But there is definitely room for compromise, he tweets.
Russian requirements
Russia has also demanded that the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by the Kremlin in 2014, be recognized as part of Russia.
Putin also demands that the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk be recognized as independent, and has made a somewhat more vague demand that Ukraine be “demilitarized and de-Nazified.”
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