President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered to drop Ukraine's aspirations to join the NATO military alliance as he held five hours of talks with U.S. envoys in Berlin on Sunday to end the war with Russia, with negotiations set to continue on Monday.
Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s envoy, said “significant progress” had been made during discussions he attended alongside Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
The talks mark the latest diplomatic effort to resolve Europe’s deadliest conflict since the Second World War, though few details have been made public.
Zelenskyy’s adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, said the Ukrainian president would comment once the talks conclude, adding that officials are reviewing draft documents.
“The discussions lasted more than five hours and concluded today with an agreement to resume tomorrow morning,” Lytvyn said in a WhatsApp message to reporters.
Ahead of the talks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine could drop its bid to join NATO in exchange for firm Western security guarantees — a significant shift for Kyiv, which has enshrined NATO membership in its constitution as protection against Russian aggression.
Witkoff said representatives held “in-depth discussions” on a proposed 20-point peace framework, economic issues and other matters, confirming that negotiations would resume on Monday morning.
The meeting was hosted by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who made brief opening remarks before leaving delegations to negotiate. Other European leaders are expected in Germany for further discussions.
“From the outset, Ukraine sought NATO membership as the most reliable form of security,” Zelenskyy said in a written response to reporters. “Some partners in the U.S. and Europe did not support this path.”
He said alternatives under discussion include bilateral security guarantees from the United States, NATO Article 5-style commitments, and additional guarantees from European partners, as well as countries such as Canada and Japan.
Russia has repeatedly demanded that Ukraine formally renounce NATO membership and withdraw forces from parts of eastern Ukraine still under Kyiv’s control. Moscow has also insisted that Ukraine remain neutral and that no NATO troops be stationed on its territory.
Washington’s decision to send Witkoff closely involved in talks with both Kyiv and Moscow was widely seen as a sign the U.S. believes progress may be possible nearly four years after Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Meanwhile, speaking in Brussels, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said Ukraine needs “real troops and real capabilities” to defend itself.
She rejected suggestions that the Donbas region could serve as a buffer zone or be ceded to Russia, warning that the area is not Moscow’s final objective.
Kallas said robust security guarantees are essential to prevent Russia from seizing more Ukrainian territory in the future.
Another key issue under discussion in Brussels is continued financial support for Ukraine.
EU ministers are debating whether to reach consensus this week on using around $240 billion in frozen Russian assets to finance reparations loans and support Ukraine’s war effort.
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Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine overnight on Saturday (7 March), damaging infrastructure and killing at least 10 people, including two children, in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials said.
U.S.-mediated talks on the Russia–Ukraine war concluded in Geneva on Thursday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy describing the outcome as showing “more readiness” for further trilateral diplomacy covering security, economic and political elements of a potential settlement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, arrived in Geneva and may hold talks with U.S. officials, according to the RIA news agency.
Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s new Flamingo missiles successfully struck targets deep inside Russian territory, underscoring the continuing intensity of the conflict.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices continue to rise, currently surpassing $119 a barrel this Monday, an almost four year high following fresh U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting oil depots. Stock markets shares slumped on fears the conflict with Iran could disrupt shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
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