Zelenskyy says US seeking ‘free economic zone’ in eastern Ukraine
Al Jazeera
Ukraine leader says US wants zone as buffer between armies, underlining that referendum needed for any land schemes.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the United States is pushing for Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the Donetsk region to establish a “free economic zone” in the Kyiv-held parts of eastern Ukraine that Moscow wants to control.
Zelenskyy confirmed on Thursday that his country had presented the US with a 20-point set of counter-proposals for peace amid discussions on security guarantees with top US officials, making it clear that any territorial concessions would have to be put to a referendum in Ukraine.
“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 … region. They do not know who will govern this territory,” said the Ukrainian president.
He said that Russia had referred to the proposed buffer area as a “demilitarised zone” and that the US team was describing it as an “economic free zone”.
“I believe that the people of Ukraine will answer this question. Whether through elections or a referendum, there must be a position from the people of Ukraine,” he said.
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