Zelenskyy says he wants security guarantees similar to NATO's Article 5 - The Guardian

Ukraine is ready to abandon its aspirations to join NATO, but instead demands security guarantees from the United States and Europe that will be similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Alliance. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a conversation with journalists, according to The Guardian.

The publication reminds that NATO Article 5 is a collective defense article, which stipulates that an armed attack on one member of the Alliance is automatically considered an attack on all. In fact, Kyiv demands the maximum level of protection from its partners, even outside the framework of official membership in the Alliance.

"It remains to be seen whether the United States will agree to this, and if so, how it will convince Moscow to accept it as part of the deal," the journalists added.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was ready to refuse to join NATO in exchange for security guarantees.

The President released photos of greetings from US delegates in Berlin. Zelenskyy greeted and hugged US Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff warmly, and was more reserved with Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

On the eve of the meeting, Zelenskyy also compared the process of ending the war to "running a long distance," emphasizing Ukraine's readiness for "Plan B".