Donald Trump on Donbas: issue not resolved yet, but we are close
Photo: Donald Trump (Getty Images)
The issue of establishing a so-called free trade zone (or free economic zone) in Donbas has not yet been resolved, but Ukraine and the United States are moving closer to an agreement on the matter, according to remarks by US President Donald Trump at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following talks at Mar-a-Lago.
In response to a question about Donbas, US President Donald Trump said the issue had not yet been resolved, but stressed that all sides were working on it. He added that, overall, only "one or two very thorny issues" remained to be settled to conclude a peace agreement.
"You can say 95%, but I don't like percentages. I just think we are doing very well. There's one or two very thorny issues. We discussed the referendum and can use it for the plan," the US President stated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s position on Donbas was well known, stressing that both Ukrainian law and public opinion must be respected, and that Ukrainians’ stance on the issue was clear.
He also agreed with US President Donald Trump that the territorial issue remained highly complex, adding that one possible option could be holding a referendum, which he said had been discussed and could be used as part of the peace plan.
Zelenskyy recalled that ahead of the meeting, he had outlined Ukraine’s clear "red lines" for peace talks, naming territorial issues, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and security guarantees.
Following the talks, he said security guarantees had been agreed in full, while the overall peace plan was about 90% agreed, leaving only the issues of Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant unresolved.
