Which deal with Russia Ukraine will never accept: Zelenskyy's firm answer
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine (Getty Images)
The Ukrainian people will not accept a peace agreement with Russia under which it would gain control over all of Donbas, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with Axios.
Read also: Better without deal than with bad one: Zelenskyy says he is ready to continue fight
He said that Kyiv and Washington have agreed that any such agreement must be put to a referendum in Ukraine.
The President believes that if an agreement involves just the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the Donetsk region, it would not pass a referendum.
"Emotionally, people will never forgive this. Never. They will not forgive... me, they will not forgive (the US - ed.)," Zelenskyy said, emphasizing that Ukrainians "can't understand why" they are being asked to make additional territorial concessions.
But the President added that if an agreement freezes the current front line in Donbas, Ukrainians would accept it.
"I think that if we will put in the document ... that we stay where we stay on the contact line, I think that people will support this in a referendum. That is my opinion," Zelenskyy said.
Russia’s demands
Ukraine, Russia, and the US have been continuing peace negotiations since last month. The first two rounds took place in Abu Dhabi. The third round began today, February 17, and will continue tomorrow, February 18, in Geneva.
So far, the participants have not revealed details. Ukraine’s National Security Secretary Rustem Umerov only said that the sides discussed practical mechanisms for possible solutions today.
Reaching a peace agreement remains difficult because Ukraine and Russia's positions on the issue of territories differ. Through diplomacy, Russia seeks to gain full control over the Donetsk region, where its advances have been very slow.
Meanwhile, Ukraine insists on an unconditional ceasefire, and any negotiations should be based on the current contact line.
