Zelensky Abandons NATO Bid as Berlin Talks Weigh 20-Point Ceasefire Plan

Overview

• Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine will forgo NATO membership in return for legally binding security guarantees from the U.S., European partners and other allies.
• Steve Witkoff said a five-hour session with Zelensky in Berlin made “much progress,” with talks set to resume Monday and Jared Kushner participating in the U.S. delegation.
• Negotiators are reviewing a 20-point framework intended to lead to a ceasefire, and Zelensky described a truce along current front lines as a fair option.
• Kyiv rejects ceding territory to Russia, and Zelensky dismissed a reported U.S. idea for a demilitarized free economic zone in Donetsk as unworkable.
• Russia continues to demand Ukrainian neutrality, a formal renunciation of NATO and a withdrawal from parts of Donbas, while European governments refine U.S. proposals and discuss using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.