KYIV -- President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he would consider the temporary deployment of foreign military forces on Ukrainian soil until full NATO membership as a way of securing his country as part of peace settlement with Russia.
Speaking on December 9 at a joint news conference in Kyiv with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, Zelenskiy said Ukraine's security needed to not only include NATO membership, but ultimately European Union accession as well, to ward off future aggression by Moscow.
"A contingent of military forces from one country or another could stay in Ukraine until it becomes a NATO member," he said in a sign of Kyiv's growing openness to finding a diplomatic solution to Russia's nearly three-year-long assault.
The proposal echoes discussions earlier this year when French President Emmanuel Macron called for the deployment of European forces in Ukraine.
While Zelenskiy recognized that consultations on the issue are ongoing, he said giving Ukraine absolute security guarantees was important.
"Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone else. No doubt, a diplomatic resolution would save more lives. We do seek it," he said.
"If there is a pause while Ukraine is not in NATO, and even if we had the invitation, and we would not be in NATO, and there will be a pause, then who guarantees us any kind of security?" Zelenskiy added.
SEE ALSO: Wider Europe Briefing: NATO Braces For An Unpredictable 2025Zelenskiy said in a post later on Telegram that he plans to call U.S. President Joe Biden and discuss the issue of NATO membership.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has been advocating for more substantial security commitments from its Western allies.
Russia has been making incremental gains on the battlefield in recent months and now controls nearly one-fifth of Ukrainian territory in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said several times that principles on which the two countries reached tentative agreement in Istanbul weeks into the full-scale war could serve as the basis for future peace talks.
Putin has also said Kyiv must cede large swaths of land that Russia baselessly claims as its own but that remain under Ukrainian control.
However, Moscow's resistance to NATO admitting Ukraine into the military alliance remains a significant barrier, with Russia viewing it as a direct threat to its security.
Zelenskiy's appeal for NATO membership comes at a time of increasing international debate about the alliance's "open-door" policy, which allows countries to join provided they meet certain criteria.
It also comes as former U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to take office next month.
While the Biden administration has Trump, who will take office on January 20, has criticized the tens of billions of dollars the United States has poured into Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
SEE ALSO: Trump Says Russia, Iran In 'Weakened State,' Calls On Putin To Make Ukraine Deal
He has claimed he could end the war within 24 hours of retaking the White House, a statement that has been interpreted as meaning that Ukraine would have to surrender territory that Russia now occupies.
Experts say it will be difficult to hammer out a peace deal quickly because there are so many aspects, including security guarantees for Ukraine and sanctions relief for Russia.
In the meantime, the outgoing Biden administration has been accelerating weapons shipments to Ukraine ahead of the transfer of power.
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Trump held talks with Zelenskiy and Macron in Paris on December 7 to discuss the war. Zelenskiy called the trilateral talks "good and productive" and said the leaders discussed the potential for "a just peace."
In his first television interview since winning the election in November, Trump told the NBC News program Meet The Press that Ukraine should "probably" prepare to receive less aid from Washington once he takes power.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov said on December 9 that Kyiv was strategically preparing for a key diplomatic meeting with its European allies later this month.
According to the statement, the gathering's purpose is to coordinate a unified position among Kyiv's key partners and ensure Ukraine is in a strong negotiating position for any future peace talks and on the battlefield.
Nykyforov emphasized that the final list of participants was still being finalized. Still, the meeting is expected to include representatives from key European states that have supported Ukraine in its efforts to repel Russia's invasion.
While the exact details of the meeting's agenda are not yet clear, it is expected to focus on further strengthening military aid, ensuring financial support, and coordinating strategies for both current military operations and any future diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict.
In a separate development, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on December 9 that the EU Council had approved a new payment of $4.4 billion to Ukraine. This is part of a larger initiative set to bring the total financial support from the EU to Ukraine to 16 billion euros ($17 billion) for this year alone.
"This financial support reveals the real determination of the EU for strengthening our economy, supporting key reforms, and bolstering the European integration pretensions of Ukraine," he said.
"It is one of the important steps towards strengthening Ukraine on its way to victory."
The funds are earmarked for postwar reconstruction and modernization and to aid reforms in Ukraine as it follows a path to EU accession.
With reporting by Dilova Stolytsya and TrueUA