NEW YORK, December 3. /TASS/. Western officials have already been working for a year and a half to develop an agreement, which would provide security guarantees for Kiev in exchange for relinquishing territories liberated by the Russian army, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing its sources.
According to the report, this Western position is connected to the fact that the Ukrainian conflict has long become a war of attrition. Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election only reinforced the intent of Western allies of Ukraine to push it to negotiations: the West doubts that the new US leader would continue sending American aid to Ukraine, the newspaper says.
On November 29, Vladimir Zelensky said in an interview with Sky News that the hot phase of the conflict could end if Ukrainian territories that remain under Kiev’s control are put under a NATO "umbrella." According to Zelensky, NATO membership for Ukraine would have ended the hot phase of the conflict, but no one has made such an offer yet. Allegedly, Ukraine has not considered this option because no one voiced it officially, he said. According to the Strana.UA website, this has become Zelensky’s first indication that he is ready to end the conflict without regaining the lost territories.
However, on December 1, Zelensky claimed during a press conference in Kiev that Ukraine would never accept a partial invitation to NATO.