Russia has expressed willingness to let Ukraine join the European Union (EU) as part of a future peace deal, U.S. officials told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In addition to possible EU membership, Russia might also accept a new security guarantee for Ukraine that provides NATO-like protections as part of the deal, the officials told the DCNF. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are currently in Berlin for peace negotiations with European leaders and Ukraine, and are expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the peace talks, the officials said.
“Russia, in a final deal, has indicated they would be willing…to Ukraine joining the EU,” one official told the DCNF.
The officials expressed confidence they have resolved “90%” of the issues between Russia and Ukraine in the new deal, but did not elaborate on the outstanding issues from Russian President Vladimir Putin or Zelenskyy.
Ukraine has said it was willing to give up its NATO aspirations in a peace deal with Russia, marking a major shift from Zelenskyy’s previous position at the start of the conflict. President Donald Trump previously urged the leader to drop his NATO push in August, saying he would end the “almost immediately” if Ukraine gave it up.
Discussions in Berlin with Zelenskyy mainly focused on the U.S. security guarantee, though it is unclear how the new agreement would provide Article 5-like protections in practice and whether the deal would be binding, the officials told the DCNF. The officials also said that involved European nations have expressed approval of the new guarantees.
Earlier, European leaders strongly objected to the initial 20-point proposal set forth by the Trump administration in November.
Zelenskyy’s administration has also been mired in a corruption scandal that threatens to undo his grip on power, as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine launched a probe into Zelenskyy’s business partners who allegedly laundered $100 million from Ukraine’s nuclear energy company.
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