Kyiv has prepared a one-page negotiating framework with US and European officials that it intends to present to Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the proposals focus on ending the fighting and establishing a special arrangement for the Donbas, with the US political calendar shaping the timeframe for progress.
Ceasefire and proposed Donbas zone
Speaking to reporters, Zelensky said a ceasefire was the main element of the proposals.
“It contains one of the ideas for a ceasefire. That is the main point. The second point concerns what the Americans proposed regarding a free economic zone,” he said.
The second element revives a previously discussed US proposal to establish a free economic zone in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, administered by a third party.
Kremlin disputes third-party administration
The Kremlin questioned whether the US proposal was feasible.
It argued that the Donbas, comprising the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, was formally part of Russia and could therefore not be administered by a third party.
Timeline shaped by US election cycle
Zelensky said the opportunity for an agreement extends from the G20 summit in the US in December through the summer of 2027.
After that, he said, campaigning for the 2028 US presidential election would begin, potentially shifting Washington’s attention.
Earlier this month, Zelensky said Ukraine had submitted proposals for ending the war to US negotiators but provided no further details.
US-led negotiations collapsed earlier this year after Ukraine rejected Russia’s demand that it cede additional territory. The outbreak of the US-Iran war also diverted much of Washington’s attention.
US negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff last visited Moscow in January. Neither has travelled to Ukraine.
Roles of the EU and NATO
Zelensky said the third element concerns the roles of the European Union and NATO, as well as “what Ukraine is prepared to do to achieve this”. He did not elaborate.
“These three ideas that I mentioned are not exclusively Ukrainian,” he said.
According to Zelensky, the proposals were jointly developed with US and European officials. Some were based on previous discussions held by American negotiators with Ukraine and Russia.
Source: CNA
