Zelenskyy outlines red line in talks with the US in Berlin
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally joined hours of talks with a US delegation in Berlin on Sunday to discuss ways to end Russia's war against Ukraine. According to The Public, citing the German media Bild, Kyiv is demonstrating a willingness to make a number of difficult compromises, but has a clear red line that is not subject to discussion.
It is about territorial concessions. The basis of the discussions was the 28-point US peace plan, which includes, among other things, Ukraine's renunciation of NATO membership and the holding of elections within 100 days. Under certain conditions, the Ukrainian side is ready to consider these points.
At the same time, the document contains provisions on the actual recognition of Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk regions as Russian, as well as freezing the situation in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions along the frontline. A separate clause provides for the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from a part of Donetsk region covering an area of about 5,600 square kilometres.
Zelensky rejected this scenario. According to journalists, the president is ready to talk about temporarily freezing the front line, but he calls the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the controlled part of Donetsk region and its subsequent international recognition as Russian unacceptable.
The American side, in turn, proposed the option of creating a demilitarised economic zone in these territories without the presence of Russian troops. However, this approach has not yet resolved the key differences between the parties.
