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Donald Trump is pushing Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the Donbas region to create a \u201cfree economic zone\u201d in the parts of eastern Ukraine now held by Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Early drafts of the US\u2019s 28-point plan for peace in Ukraine had called for a \u201cneutral, demilitarised buffer zone\u201d to be created following the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the area of Donetsk province.<\/p>\n
Under the initial plan circulated last month, the zone would be \u201cinternationally recognised as territory belonging to the Russian Federation\u201d.<\/p>\n
But now Trump and his negotiating team have suggested a compromise, said Zelenskyy. \u201cThey see Ukrainian forces leaving the territory of Donetsk region, and the supposed compromise is that Russian forces do not enter this territory,\u201d Zelenskyy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho will govern this territory, which they call a \u2018free economic zone\u2019 or a \u2018demilitarised zone\u2019 \u2014 they do not know\u2009.\u2009.\u2009. This is roughly how the compromise vision of the United States of America looks today.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that requiring the Ukrainians to withdraw without strong, US-backed security guarantees would be unfair, with nothing preventing the Russian side from advancing into the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is probably fair to ask: if one side withdraws from somewhere, as [the US] wants from Ukraine, then why does the other side in the war not withdraw the same distance in the other direction?\u201d the president asked. \u201cAll of this still leaves a great many questions.\u201d <\/p>\n
Discussions were ongoing, he said. \u201cIt is not a given that we as Ukraine will accept this, but when you talk to us about a compromise, you have to offer a fair compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy said on Thursday evening in Kyiv that he and his senior advisers and negotiating team had also held \u201ca constructive and in-depth conversation\u201d about security guarantees with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, defence secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US generals and Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters, Zelenskyy also floated the idea of putting the question of territorial concessions to a national referendum.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that this is a question that the people of Ukraine must answer,\u201d he said. \u201cEither in the format of elections or in the format of a referendum, but there must be a position of the Ukrainian people.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Trump and his peace negotiators dial up pressure to solve the years-long war, Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin has stuck to his maximalist demands including a full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the eastern Donbas.<\/p>\n