Ukraine could agree to a ceasefire with Russia if NATO extends its protection to the parts of the country controlled by Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday.
"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control," Zelensky said in an interview with the British TV channel Sky News.
"We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way."
He said this plan hadn't before been considered because no one had suggested it to Ukraine officially. A NATO invitation would still need to be extended to the whole of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, he said. His country's constitution does not allow recognition of Russian-occupied territories.
The president recently hinted in a speech in parliament in Kiev that Ukraine might not need to militarily recapture all occupied territories and could leave this to a future diplomatic solution. The demand for an immediate NATO invitation is part of his so-called victory plan, which he presented in the autumn in Washington, Berlin, and other capitals.
However, the United States and Germany - top supporters of Ukraine and important NATO nations - are blocking a fast track for Ukraine into the Western defence alliance. The plans known so far from President-elect Donald Trump also do not foresee a NATO membership for Ukraine. Russia categorically rejects having Ukraine in NATO.
