US offers ‘free economic zone’ if Ukraine cedes remainder of Donbas, Zelensky says
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Mr Zelensky told reporters the US is offering as a compromise to create a “free economic zone” in the parts of the eastern Donbas region that Ukraine still controls. Moscow has demanded that Kyiv cede these territories to Russia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Ukraine gave the US a revised 20-point peace plan, but ceding territory to Russia remains a key obstacle.
- The US proposes a "free economic zone" in Donbas, requiring Ukrainian troops to withdraw, but governance is unresolved.
- Ukraine faces US pressure for a deal, seeking security guarantees and a strong army, aiming for understanding by Christmas.
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KYIV - Ukraine has presented the US with a revised 20-point framework to end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Dec 11, adding that the issue of ceding territory remains a major sticking point in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said the US is offering as a compromise to create a “free economic zone” in the Ukraine-controlled parts of the eastern Donbas
“They see it as Ukrainian troops withdrawing from the Donetsk region, and the compromise is supposedly that Russian troops will not enter this part of Donetsk region. They do not know who will govern this territory,” he said, adding that Russia is referring to it as a “demilitarised zone”.
However, Mr Zelensky said there was still no common understanding on the land issue and that Ukrainians should vote on any territorial concessions in a referendum.
Kyiv, in the latest round of frantic shuttle diplomacy, is seeking to balance out a 28-point US-backed plan
Mr Zelensky added that Russia’s withdrawal from slivers of land in the northeastern Kharkiv and Sumy regions, as well as the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, was part of the discussion.
The contact lines in the partially occupied southern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson would be frozen where they are, he added.
The US also offered potential joint governance of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant,
Pressure to secure peace
Ukraine is under mounting US pressure to quickly secure a deal with Russia, which has stepped up advances on the front line in recent months and renewed massive attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.
Mr Zelensky, following reports that President Donald Trump had set a Christmas deadline for Ukraine to accept the peace proposal, said Washington had not given Kyiv a strict timeline.
“I think they really wanted, or perhaps still want, to have a complete understanding of where we stand with this agreement by Christmas,” he said.
Apart from a 20-point framework, the general peace plan will include separate documents on security guarantees, to prevent Russia from attacking again, and on rebuilding Ukraine’s war-hit cities.
Ukraine, which says it has been let down by previous security assurances from allies, insists that guarantees are ratified in Parliament.
Mr Zelensky said on Dec 11 he had an “in-depth” discussion on the matter with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, and White House special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Kyiv also wants to maintain a strong army after fighting ends, and Mr Zelensky said the latest draft proposal puts it at 800,000 - higher than in an initial framework, according to reports. REUTERS
