"Neither de jure nor de facto will we recognize Donbas as Russian" - Zelenskyy
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine will not cede control over Donbas but is considering creating economic zones without recognizing it as part of Russia. President Zelenskyy emphasized that Donbas is Ukrainian territory, and Kyiv will not recognize it as Russian either de jure or de facto.
Ukraine is not going to cede control over Donbas, and any options for resolving the conflict may involve the creation of economic zones, but do not include recognizing Donbas as part of Russia. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with journalists, reports UNN.
Details
According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Russians' positions on the Donbas issue have not changed - they want to take it for themselves. At the same time, the Ukrainian position is fair from all points of view - Donbas is Ukrainian territory.
We do not want to give away our Donbas. The Americans want to find a compromise, they propose a free economic zone. I emphasize once again - a free economic zone does not mean under the leadership of the Russian Federation. These are important features for me of any Donbas format
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine will not recognize the temporarily occupied part of Donbas as Russian. At the same time, he added that the issue of territories is being discussed.
"Neither de jure nor de facto will we recognize Donbas as Russian, the part that is temporarily occupied. But, nevertheless, we will discuss the issue of territory. You know that it is one of the key ones, we do not have a consensus on this issue yet," the President of Ukraine added.
Recall
On December 14 and 15, European leaders met with Ukrainian and American delegations in Berlin. The parties discussed a peace plan for Ukraine.
AFP reported that American negotiators still want Ukraine to cede control over the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions as a condition for peace talks with Russia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the issue of a referendum on territories is not currently being considered. Ukraine is ready to hold elections provided a ceasefire regime is established and security infrastructure is ensured.