Ukraine’s head ruler, Volodymyr Zelensky is willing to sign a peace deal with Russia in exchange for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) membership. “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 told Sky News according to Newsweek. 

“We need to do it fast. And then on the [occupied] territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way,” Zelensky said.

The Russia-Ukraine war has raged on for more than two years after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the “special military operation” in Ukraine in February 2022. Although Moscow aimed for a quick victory over its Eastern European neighbor, viewed as having a much smaller military, its spirited defense effort bolstered by Western aid, has blocked it from making substantial gains. –Newsweek

NATO Rejects Pope’s Peaceful “White Flag” Appeal To Ukraine

So far, NATO, Ukraine, and Russia have been unable to broker a peace deal after red lines have been repeatedly crossed. “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 told Sky News’ chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay.

Zelensky said in the interview that a ceasefire is needed to “guarantee that Putin will not come back” to acquire additional territory in Ukraine. Zelensky has rejected the idea that he’d need to concede territory back to Russia, but has expressed a willingness to collaborate with future United States ruler Donald Trump on alternative solutions.

“I want to work with [Trump] directly because there are different voices from people around him. And that’s why we need not to [allow] anybody around to destroy our communication,” he said. “It will be not helpful and will be destructive. We have to try to find the new model. I want to share with him ideas and I want to hear from him.”

This is the first time Zelensky has publicly hinted at a ceasefire scenario that might temporarily exclude occupied regions.