Zelensky accepts US proposal for new round of peace talks next week

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that he has accepted the United States' proposal to hold another round of talks aimed at ending the war with Russia.

In an interview with Bloomberg, quoted by Ukrinform, Zelensky said that the next meeting is expected to be held on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. However, according to him, it remains unclear whether Russia will agree to participate in these talks, which are expected to take place in the United States.

At the center of the discussions is expected to be a US proposal to create a free economic zone that would serve as a buffer zone in the eastern Donetsk region. But the Ukrainian president stressed that both Kiev and Moscow are skeptical of the idea.

"Neither side is interested in the idea of ​​a free economic zone - neither the Russians, nor us. We have different views on it. The agreement was to come back with a vision of what this could look like for the next meeting," Zelensky said during a telephone interview from Kiev.

He stressed that the issue of control of the buffer zone remains crucial and requires clarity from the US. “If it is our territory – and it is our territory – then the country whose territory it is should govern it,” he said.

Zelensky also added that former President Donald Trump's administration wants the documents signed immediately, but stressed that any peace agreement would have to be approved in Ukraine through a vote in parliament or through a national referendum.

Regarding the latest round of talks, held in the United Arab Emirates, the Ukrainian president announced that they focused on ceasefire mechanisms and the US role in monitoring them.

However, according to him, negotiators failed to finalize the details without political decisions at the highest level.

The Geopost