Zelenskyy named territories as a matter for future negotiations with the US, expects a meeting on "Tuesday or Wednesday"
Kyiv • UNN
President Zelenskyy accepted the US proposal to hold the next round of negotiations to end the war, where the issue of territory will be discussed. Ukraine may approve a peace proposal through a parliamentary vote or a national referendum.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he accepted a US offer to hold the next round of talks to end Russia's war, and negotiators are likely to focus on the difficult issue of territory, he said in an interview with Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
"The fourth round is scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday," Zelenskyy told Bloomberg, although it is unclear whether Russia will agree to talks in the US. On the agenda is a US proposal to create a free economic zone as a buffer in the eastern Donbas region, an option that the Ukrainian leader said both sides of the conflict are skeptical of, the publication writes.
"Neither side is interested in the idea of a free economic zone - neither the Russians nor us," Zelenskyy said in a phone interview in Kyiv on Tuesday, though he declined to rule out such a possibility. - We have different views on this. And the agreements were - let's come back with a vision of what it might look like at the next meeting."
Envoys of US President Donald Trump are stepping up efforts to end Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is approaching its fifth year, and the issue of territories is a key stumbling block, the publication notes.
The previous round of talks earlier this month between Russian, Ukrainian, and American negotiators in Abu Dhabi was constructive, Zelenskyy said, adding that "the war could end within months if talks continue in good faith," the publication notes.
As the publication writes, the preferred option for Kyiv regarding Donbas - for which the Kremlin maintains its demand to control the entire region, including parts it has not been able to seize militarily - is for troops to remain along the front line. In discussions about who controls the buffer zone, the US needs to clarify its position, the President said.
"If it's our territory - and it is our territory - then the country whose territory it belongs to should govern it," Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian leader previously stated that the US midterm elections in November are putting pressure on the Trump administration to secure a peace deal in Ukraine. Last week, he told reporters that Trump's team had proposed completing all necessary negotiations to end hostilities by June.
US proposes to end the war by early summer - Zelenskyy07.02.26, 12:44 • 7177 views
Regarding a possible referendum
Zelenskyy said that the US administration wants to sign all documents at once. He emphasized that Ukraine would need to approve the peace proposal either by parliamentary vote or in a national referendum.
The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly stated his intention to announce a referendum on any peace agreement after the cessation of hostilities. The head of Zelenskyy's party in parliament, David Arakhamia, told reporters last month that Kyiv could finalize the referendum law by the end of February, and that such a vote should be held alongside the presidential elections, the publication notes.
"Currently, we are also talking about a plan for the sequence of all our actions, including the signing of documents," Zelenskyy said. "I think that after our next meeting, there should be an understanding."
Ceasefire mechanisms
According to Zelenskyy, recent talks in the UAE focused on ceasefire mechanisms and how they would be monitored by the US. But negotiators were unable to finalize details without higher-level political decisions, he said.
While negotiators carefully examine the wording of a future agreement, Zelenskyy said discussions clearly showed that any ceasefire would require monitoring involving the US.
"The Russians have one wording, we have another, the Americans have a third," Zelenskyy said. "There is an understanding that there will be monitoring, but there is also an understanding that additional work is needed on the wording and details."
Prosperity Plan
The next round of talks, which reportedly "will also include bilateral talks with Washington," could consider proposals for post-war planning and focus on economic issues, the President said. To that end, Kyiv will send Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev to the delegation to discuss a so-called prosperity package with the US, Zelenskyy said.
Any optimism about progress should not overshadow the difficulties Ukraine faces in financing reconstruction and maintaining military capabilities to deter any future Russian attack, Zelenskyy said. An economic shock could be brewing without clear sources of funding, he warned, referring to the billions of dollars needed for reconstruction, social spending, and the military for years to come.
This will require a clear financing mechanism involving Europe, as even potential funding from frozen Russian central bank assets will not cover the needs in the long term, Zelenskyy noted.
Recent Russian airstrikes on energy infrastructure have disabled up to 10 gigawatts of Ukraine's generating capacity, Zelenskyy said, leading to a daily electricity deficit of approximately five to six gigawatts during peak hours. Some facilities will not be repaired before the next heating season, the publication writes.