(Dan Tri) – Ukraine’s Foreign Minister announced that Kiev opposes the idea of ceding territories controlled by Russia in exchange for NATO membership.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba (Photo: Tass).

`Supporters of this plan should ask other countries to make similar concessions. If they do so, I am ready to listen to their arguments,` Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba told reporters.

The idea that Ukraine could cede territories controlled by Russia in exchange for NATO membership has been floated by former senior NATO officials, including former Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and

Foreign Minister Kuleba also rejected the notion that the West is `tired` of the conflict in Ukraine, and emphasized that the lack of arms supply is not related to this sentiment.

Last week, German newspaper Bild reported that US and German officials wanted Kiev to compromise and hold peace negotiations with Moscow.

Discussing the supply of weapons at NATO headquarters, Foreign Minister Kuleba said he had `no reason` to believe that the West’s failure to provide as many weapons as Kiev expected was due to `lack of political will

`But I have good reason to believe that a lot of (engineering work) needs to be done to achieve goals in this area,` Mr. Kuleba added.

Foreign Minister Kuleba noted that of the 1 million artillery shells that the EU pledged to send to Ukraine by 2023, only about 300,000 have arrived in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials said Kiev remains steadfast in its conflict goals and affirmed that `nothing can stop us`.

`You give us everything we need, we will fight. We do not ask you to sacrifice your lives,` Mr. Kuleba emphasized.

Moscow has called the Ukraine conflict a US-led proxy war against Russia.

At the press conference on November 29, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that NATO countries are not pressuring Ukraine to sit at the negotiating table with Russia as rumored.

The NATO leader emphasized the view that military aid to Ukraine is `the path to peace` and that the stronger Ukraine is on the battlefield, the stronger its position at the negotiating table.

Mr. Stoltenberg also said that NATO does not see any signs of Moscow’s willingness to find a peaceful solution to the current conflict in Ukraine.

According to the NATO leader, the West needs to show Russia that it cannot win on the battlefield, which means allies and partners need to continue to provide more military aid to Ukraine.

On the Russian side, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said there was no prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine in 2024, despite information that the US could push Kiev to sit at the negotiating table with Moscow.

Mr. Ryabkov explained that this is because Kiev and the West have taken a completely unacceptable position towards Moscow.