Ukraine will not give up Donbas: Zelenskyy summed up negotiations with the US

Ukraine and Russia have not yet reached an agreement on Donbas within the framework of peace negotiations, while the parties have made progress on issues of security guarantees and further steps in the negotiation process.

This was reported by the Office of the President of Ukraine following the results of Volodymyr Zelensky’s communication with journalists after meetings with the American delegation in Berlin.

The President stated that Russia insists on the transfer of all of Donbas to it as part of the peace plan, but Ukraine’s position remains unchanged – there will be no territorial concessions.

“They want our Donbas. Our position is clear and fair – we do not want to give away our Donbas. We will not recognize it as Russian either de jure or de facto,” Zelensky stressed.

He confirmed that the American side is looking for compromise options and is proposing the idea of a free economic zone, but Ukraine is considering it exclusively without Russian participation or control.

The President acknowledged that there is still no consensus on the territorial issue, but emphasized that real progress has been recorded in other areas of the negotiations, in particular regarding security guarantees for Ukraine.

Separately, Zelenskyy commented on the idea of a referendum on territorial issues. According to him, the authorities are not currently considering such an option, as they do not want to further complicate the lives of Ukrainians during the war.

At the same time, he confirmed readiness for elections after the ceasefire, but emphasized that this requires a full-fledged security infrastructure and changes to the legislation.

The president also warned that if the Kremlin rejects any peace proposals, international pressure on Russia will only increase. He said that in that case, the US could expand sanctions and increase military aid to Ukraine.

Zelensky stressed the critical importance of reparations loans from frozen Russian assets, which should become a financial safety net for the Ukrainian economy.

Speaking about further steps, the president said that the Ukrainian and American teams are planning a new meeting in the United States in the near future, possibly this weekend. After that, the parties will decide on the advisability of a meeting at the leadership level.

“After the team meetings, we will think about contact at the leadership level – at least with the US President,” Zelenskyy noted.

Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that security guarantees for Ukraine include a US military response in the event of new Russian aggression.

As a reminder, President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced the increasing chances of a temporary ceasefire and progress in developing security guarantees for Ukraine.

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