Ukraine is ready to discuss ways to stop the Russian invasion, including not asking for a NATO membership in exchange for a ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. The Ukrainian leader said that he insisted on talking to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 

Zelensky called his suggestion a “compromise for everyone” while speaking multiple Ukrainian television channels on late Monday, according to reports from Associated Press.

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“It is a compromise for everyone: for the West, which does not know what to do with us with regard to NATO, for Ukraine, which wants security guarantees, and for Russia, which does not want further NATO expansion”, Zelensky said in a statement, urging for negotiations.

While emphasising his request for direct talks with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, Zelensky said that unless he meets his counterpart, it is impossible to understand whether Russia even wants to stop the war, according to reports from Associated Press.

The status of Crimea and Donbas — areas with direct or indirect Russian control — will be discussed after Moscow announces a ceasefire and takes steps towards providing security guarantees, Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader also went on to slam NATO — a security alliance formed between Western nations to keep Russian aggression in check. Zelensky implied that NATO was “afraid” of Russia.

“NATO should either say now that they’re accepting us, or openly say that they are not accepting us as they are scared of Russia, which is true”, Zelensky said in a statement, according to Kyiv Independent.

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“And then, we need to calm down and say, okay, NATO member countries can provide us security guarantees without us being in NATO. That is where the compromise exists, that is where the end of the war is”, he added.

Taking a major U-turn from its previous policies, Ukraine has recently started to let go of the expectation of being a member of NATO, media reports suggest.